FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- If New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones were a boxer, this would be the time when the referee would walk him to the corner to assess his condition and determine if the fight should continue.
The blows keep on coming.
Some have been delivered by coach Bill Belichick's decision-making. Others have been self-induced. And the latest, when tests revealed Monday that Jones' go-to receiver Kendrick Bourne tore his right ACL, are simply an unfortunate part of the game.
Add them all up and the Patriots (2-6) find themselves in last place in the entire AFC with a lingering question hovering over the franchise: After selecting Jones with the 15th overall pick of the 2021 draft, and seeing him flourish as a rookie, how will the flurry of jabs and uppercuts he's absorbed since impact the future?