The Carolina Panthers were understandably upset on Sunday with Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones after contact away from the ball sent Panthers linebacker Brian Burns to the ground in pain.
Several videos of the play showed Jones, who fumbled after being hit by Burns, grab the linebacker’s foot and go into a tugging and twisting motion. Burns tried to return to the game before ultimately leaving on a cart, and Panthers linebacker Haason Reddick called the move from Jones “completely dirty.”
On Monday, after even more angles of the play hit social media, Jones offered his explanation in an interview with WEEI. According to Jones, he was a bit disoriented after the hard hit and thought Burns had the football.
Not to belabor the point, but you won't get a better look at the Mac Jones ankle twist than this one from NFL Films. You can clearly see the grab, the trip, and the roll. It's not great. pic.twitter.com/pBjUnqJ8Wc
— Phil Orban (@philorbanWSOC9) November 8, 2021
Via Patriots Wire:
“After I got hit pretty hard, I didn’t really know exactly what was going on. I thought he had the ball, and it was my job to try and make the tackle. That was pretty much it. And you know, obviously when you get up and you see the ball is actually down the field a little bit more … it was just a bang-bang play, and I didn’t mean to hurt anybody or anything like that. I was just trying to tackle him and make the play. Because you know, I didn’t really know what was going on.”
Even if Jones did think that Burns had the football, you never want to see a player deliberately twist someone’s ankle like that. Just slowing Burns down would have been enough to allow teammates to make the tackle if Jones really thought he had the football.
The NFL is going to take a closer look at the play, but Jones isn’t expected to face discipline beyond a possible fine.
The NFL will review #Patriots QB Mac Jones grabbing Brian Burns' ankle Sunday as part of its normal process, I'm told. Jones faces a possible fine, but nothing more than that.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 8, 2021
Burns suffered a sprained ankle and is set for an MRI this week.
