Is New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones a dirty player?
There a few examples of Jones going over the line during his two seasons as an NFL player.
He had an incident with Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns last year as a rookie. Jones grabbed Burns' ankle and appeared to twist it after a strip sack.
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Back in Week 7 of this season, Jones had a few questionable slides, including one where his cleat caught Bears safety Jaquan Brisker in a sensitive region.
And then in last Saturday's Week 16 matchup with the Bengals, Jones dove at Cincinnati cornerback Eli Apple's knees during a fumble return. (The fumble was ultimately overturned.) Jones reportedly will be fined $11,139 by the NFL this week for that hit on Apple.
The Patriots quarterback's hit on Apple has generated plenty of discussion and debate over whether he's a dirty player. One person who thinks that Jones is in fact a dirty player is former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.
New England Patriots
Clark blasted Jones for the hit on Tuesday's edition of ESPN's "First Take". Check out the rant in the video below:
Apple himself called his incident with Jones a dirty play.
“Of course I did (notice it). He tripped me,” Apple said after the Bengals' 22-18 win, per NESN.com. “I thought it was a dirty play. He’s done that before, I’ve seen it.”
Jones gave his side of the story during a WEEI interview Monday.
“Obviously, I went down in front of him to kind of get in the way, to stop him from slowing down Tyquan, who obviously could make the tackle there,” Jones said. “Just kind of went down in front of him and tried to stop a fast guy from getting to another fast guy. Just a split-second decision, and there’s a lot that goes into it. You’re out there trying to compete, and it’s a physical game, so just trying to help the team win."
Jones does play hard, and he isn't afraid to throw a block or two. But there's a fine line between playing hard and delivering dirty hits. Jones has gone over that line a few times, and if he continues to do it, he might put the Patriots in a difficult spot.