New England Patriots: Cyrus Jones Listed as Player Who Needs to Leave
By Nick Ziegler
NFL Nation reporters recently picked one player from each team that could use a change of scenery this offseason. Who did they pick from the Patriots?
Overall, it was a great season for the New England Patriots. During the regular season, they were able to win 14 games with losses coming against the Buffalo Bills and the Seattle Seahawks.
Recently, NFL Nation reporters picked one player from each team that could use a change of scenery. For the Patriots, picking a player was not easy. However, it was rookie Cyrus Jones who was picked from the Patriots.
Jones was the 60th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and he had a rookie season to forget. Despite Bill Belichick and the Patriots usually being excellent at drafting, Jones really struggled. For good chunks of the season, Jones was inactive due to his struggles. Because of that, choosing him as the player who most could use a change of scenery on the Patriots makes sense.
Here’s what Mike Reiss of ESPN had to say about the selection of Jones.
"There is nothing that says the Patriots’ top draft pick from 2016 (No. 60 overall) can’t turn it around, and from that standpoint, it is way, way, way too early to give up on him. But this was as rough a rookie season as a top draft pick has had in coach Bill Belichick’s 17-year tenure, and in a year when there isn’t a standout candidate for Patriots player who needs to move on this offseason, Jones gets the nod because of his first-year struggles that led to him being inactive for five of the final six games and four other games during the middle of the season. Ball-security problems as a returner, as well as questionable judgment, were issues for Jones. — Mike Reiss"
It’s hard to give up on a second-round pick after just one season. However, Jones really did play that poorly.
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This offseason, the Patriots have a lot of free agents on the defense side of the ball. In all likelihood, they won’t be able to keep them all, and that could open the door once again for Jones in New England. He will need to improve a lot this offseason, but he will likely get another shot in 2017.