Julian Edelman hasn't been afraid to call things like he sees them in his post-playing career. That includes calling out Mac Jones last season for how the New England Patriots quarterback handled himself when things went south on the field.
Jones is in a better situation this year, however -- veteran offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has replaced inexperienced offensive play-caller Matt Patricia -- and is making a concerted effort to maintain a positive attitude.
Edelman made a guest appearance at the Patriots' training camp practice Thursday and was asked for his early impressions of the young quarterback entering Year 3.
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"I’ve seen a lot of good things," Edelman said, as seen in the video player above. "What people don’t realize, in this part of training camp, it’s not always drawn up to look like it should be a great play. A lot of times they’re testing guys and the defense has multiple different looks, and the offense isn't game-planning for certain looks. So, you go in for controlled chaos. You kind of want to see how guys react to certain looks and things.
"So, it's pretty good, and I'm excited to see him continue to work with Billy O."
That's interesting perspective from Edelman, who went through 12 training camps in New England and overlapped with O'Brien for three of them. Few know how O'Brien and Bill Belichick like to operate better than Edelman, so it's encouraging to hear his positive early review of Jones, which is in line with reports that the offense has looked much better at this year's training camp than it did 12 months ago.
Edelman and Jones apparently have kept an open dialogue, as well; Jones told reporters Thursday that he texts Edelman frequently for advice, and that the Patriots legend usually responds -- albeit in unique fashion.
"He sends voice memos, which is kind of interesting," Jones said of Edelman.
"He does a great job of communicating with me. He loves the Patriots, and he’s just an all-time Patriot. We see him on the film all the time. And any questions I have for him, he always answers."
