Patriots Tom Brady, Mac Jones Together in Viral Social Media Post
FOXBORO — As the debris from numerous Fourth of July fireworks displays continues to be cleaned up throughout the region, a symbolic, yet significant torch is apparently being passed among the New England Patriots quarterback club.
To make things even more exciting, the charge to do so is seemingly being led by a recently-retired Patriots legend.
Former Pats safety Devin McCourty sent New England’s social media universe into a frenzy on Thursday morning when posting an Instagram photo of him with legendary Patriots quarterback Tom Brady along with their current signal caller, Mac Jones. The trio were all smiles photo captioned “Living life!!!!!” on McCourty’s Instagram page.
Cred: Instagram, @devinmccourty
While the 10-picture set includes candid shots and family vacation photos, the first posting showing both Jones and Brady together may have significance beyond those which simply fall under the heading “What I did on my summer vacation.” The pairing of both former and current Pats quarterbacks may indicate that the six-time All Pro might be willing to lend some of his wisdom and counsel to his New England successor.
At the very least, it shows that the duo are not averse to spending time together.
Brady entered the NFL as the 199th overall selection by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft. The Michigan product ascended to the starting position in his second year with the team, in the aftermath of a devastating injury to then-starter Drew Bledsoe. In his first year as a starter, Brady led the Patriots to their first ever championship. He would go on to win five additional titles in New England, with his last coming as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Brady’s place among the top of the pantheon of NFL greats has been firmly established. As such, he finishes his career with regular season totals of 12,050 pass attempts for 7,753 completions (64.3 percent), 89,214 passing yards, 649 touchdowns and 212 interceptions. Brady won seven of the ten Super Bowls in which he played, earning the big game’s MVP five times.
Accordingly, the Patriots will honor Brady by opening the season in Week 1's "Thank You Tom" game against the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 10. In fact, the matchup is already being billed as one of the most-sought after tickets in NFL history.
Conversely, Jones finds himself at a crossroads as New England’s field general as he enters his third season with the club. Though he began last season on the heels of an impressive rookie campaign, Jones struggled to rekindle his previous success in his second year. The Alabama product was sidelined for three games in October due to an ankle injury, while displaying notable discomfort within offensive system under the direction of offensive play caller Matt Patricia. Ultimately, he finished the season with 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, as the Patriots limped to an 8-9 record. For the second time in three seasons, New England failed to qualify for the playoffs.
While both Brady and Jones will be present and accounted for in Foxboro in Week 1, it will not be their first time the pair shared the Gillette Stadium field.
Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the ones left standing during a Sunday night showdown with Jones’ Patriots on Oct 3, 2021. Brady finished the night completing 22 of 43 passes for 269 yards, while running back Leonard Fournette carried the ball 20 times for 91 yards. Jones completed 31 of 40 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. However a missed 56-yard field goal attempt with just under a minute to play would be the deciding factor, as the Patriots fell to the Buccaneers 19-17.
At the conclusion of the contest, both Brady and Jones shared some sentiments on the Gillette Stadium turf — for which Jones voiced his postgame gratitude.
"Yeah, after the game, I got a chance to congratulate him on the win and he's a great quarterback and yeah, he played well tonight and that's pretty much all there was to it," Jones said. "(Brady) just told me to keep my head up and keep working. I appreciated that."
With McCourty acting as the purported intermediary, Jones might be wise to once again seek Brady’s advice as he prepares to take the helm of a new-look Patriots offense directed by coordinator Bill O’Brien.
After all, if Mac needs help … who is a better consigliere than Tom Brady?
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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