The Patriots turning down Peyton Manning’s request to speak with Mac Jones before the “Manningcast” became one of Monday’s buzziest sound bites. And as anticipated, New England’s prized rookie later had the opportunity to address it.
During an appearance Tuesday on WEEI in Boston, Jones was asked about Manning, who said he reached out to the Patriots’ PR staff to speak with the quarterback — much like he does with all signal-callers before his ESPN2 telecasts — but was turned down. Now, if you have a guess as to what Jones’ answer is about the decline, chances are you may be close.
“I texted him, and I’m not gonna get into details, but I think we were just trying to focus on the game,” Jones said. “The Patriots do a great job of just helping me focus on what I need to be focusing on. I always liked that in college, too.”
Manning had reiterated that he did not feel snubbed and actually respected how the Patriots were keeping Jones cocooned from distractions, as former Colts GM Bill Polian had done when Manning was a rookie.
Jones was also asked about how Manning said it had taken the rookie quarterback several days to respond to a text message because his phone is off during the week.
“I don’t know if it’s off but I definitely don’t go on my phone that much,” Jones said. “I just don’t really look at it or focus on it unless I’m talking to my family.”
Wait, so if he doesn’t use his phone, how does he actually go about his daily life?
“I just focus on being at work and not looking at my phone, like I said just check it to talk to my girlfriend or my family. Other than that, I feel bad sometimes not being able to talk to everybody, but it’s a busy life,” he said.
