New Raiders CB Jack Jones appears thrilled to be away from the Patriots

The Patriots broke unexpected news earlier this week when it was announced they had waived cornerback Jack Jones barely 24 hours after returning from their game in Frankfurt. Although the issues between the team and Jones were well documented this season and last, there were no true indications that Bill Belichick would decide to move on from the second-year player.

The team seemed on board with keeping Jones part of the roster despite the alleged behavioral issues that resulted in his suspension at the end of last season and even the legal trouble he got himself into prior to the start of this year.

He received no punishment from the league or the team for the court filings, which were eventually dropped, and after recovering from an injury to start the year, he was put back into the starting lineup like nothing had happened.

But something since then had changed his trajectory with the team, on top of inconsistent performance that earned him some time on the bench. Reports indicated the drama came to a head after it was alleged Jones was late to the team hotel before the Patriots Week 9 game against the Commanders and worsened due to his behavior during last week's matchup with the Colts.

Given how quickly Belichick made the move to release Jones upon arriving back in the United States, it seems something more significant must have happened to prioritize the move.

Apparently, the release didn't only catch fans off guard. Jones revealed in his first opportunity to speak to the media after arriving in Las Vegas to join the Raiders that he wasn't expecting it and anticipated remaining in New England throughout his rookie contract.

"It stung for sure. That was the team that drafted me. Your mindset is you're going to spend the first four years there. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

But this is a blessing. I'm not going to lie. I feel like everything happened for a reason, and I'm happy to be here, blessed to be here and ready to get to work."

Besides his words being made clear that he's happy to be with his new team, he has also shown a drastic attitude shift since arriving there.

In all the images and videos that have made their way online, he's smiling bigger than what we've seen from him as a Patriot, proving it was an unhappy environment for both him and the team in recent weeks.

"I would say it wasn't the best fit. I can't really speak too much about it, just because I'm not on the coaching staff. I can't call it. Just wasn't the best fit, but I'm glad to be here."

But it's not all sunshine and roses for Jones, despite being excited to be with a new team and a familiar interim head coach. He shared he feels like he has something to prove even more now since he was released so suddenly, increasing the weight of the chip on his shoulder he came into the league with.

"I kind of feel like I've got something to prove without going out of my way trying to prove it. I just want to show everybody I'm a good player and not just somebody you could just shoo away."

Hopefully, Jones will have a promising career on his new team, and the Patriots' secondary won't look too much different without him.

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