Patriots quarterback Mac Jones continues to sidestep allegations he reached for Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner’s private parts during Sunday’s 15-10 win by New England.
Jones was asked about his encounter with Gardner during an appearance Monday on WEEI in Boston.
“Sauce is one of the best corners in the NFL. I have a lot of respect for him. On that play, nothing was intentional,” Jones said. “I just got up and went back to the huddle, and that’s it. … It’s football. Just trying to get up and go back to the huddle. And like I just said, nothing there.”
The alleged incident took place in the fourth quarter after Jones was tackled by Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley while attempting a quarterback sneak.
After the play, Jones stood up and got into the face of Gardner.
“That’s probably the first time that ever happened to me,” Gardner said after the game. “He got tackled, and he reached his hand up to get me to help him up, and I just moved his hand out of the way.
“But then he got up and he just came up to me [saying], like, ‘Good job.’ But while he’s saying that, he hit me in my private parts.”
Gardner added he “definitely wasn’t expecting that. First time for everything I guess. … He’s trying to prevent me from having kids in the future.”
The 23-year-old Gardner gave Jones a shove at the end of the run-in, knocking him back to the turf, but there were no further fireworks.
On Monday, Gardner posted a video on X purporting to have visual evidence of the infraction.
“Posting this so I don’t get fined lol,” Gardner tweeted.
A closeup video that was sent to the league, according to The Athletic, then began circulating on social media.
Pro Football Talk reported Monday the NFL is investigating the incident.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Jones, 25, isn’t expected to be suspended but could be fined.
Jones, who tried to downplay the encounter Sunday after the game, also was asked by WEEI about his growing reputation as a dirty player.
“I just try to focus on what I can control and that’s coming to work every day and working hard. Just trying to work as hard as I can and do the best I can. That’s all you can ask for,” Jones said.
“I try to be really competitive and go out there and be a good teammate and compete, and come to work every day and work hard and put a lot of hours into it. I definitely care about football a lot and this game means a lot to me and it means a lot to a lot of other guys that I play with, so I hope that they can see that.”
In 2021, Jones grabbed Brian Burns by the ankle and twisted him down following the Panthers defensive end’s strip-sack.
Jones kicked his leg out and up during Week 7 of the 2022 season, appearing to aim for Bears safety Jaquan Brisker’s midsection.
In Week 16, Jones appeared to dive at the legs of Bengals cornerback Eli Apple after throwing an interception.
