Former Patriots pass-rusher explains his profane criticism of Mac Jones

Retired pass-rusher Rob Ninkovich lashed out at former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones on a recent episode of his podcast, " The Dan and Ninko Show ."

During his profanity-laced criticism, Ninkovich blasted Jones (now with the Jacksonville Jaguars), saying "I don’t give a [expletive]. I’ll smack the s— out of [expletive] Mac Jones. I don’t care. Do you care if somebody doesn’t like you? Exactly. [Expletive] em.' I hope he has a great career — as a backup. Makes a ton of money."

The two-time Super Bowl champion explained the bashing during a Tuesday appearance on WZLX.

"I don't know personally whether (Jones hates me). I have no idea," Ninkovich said. "Just, I've always been critical of anybody if I'm watching football and I see bad football or I see antics that I don't agree with, I'm gonna say something about it."

Ninkovich played 11 NFL seasons from 2006-2016, including his last seven in New England. He was a seldom-used defensive end during his rookie campaign with the New Orleans Saints and in 2007 and 2008 with the Miami Dolphins before signing with the Patriots in August 2009.

Ninkovich played in all 16 of the team's regular-season contests in six straight years from 2010-2015, plus 13 of his 17 playoff tilts with the club during the stretch. Ninkovich had one of his best campaigns in 2012 when he recorded a career-high 8.0 sacks for the first of three consecutive years while adding a career-best five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries (tied for second in the league).

The former fifth-round pick helped lead the New England defense during its Super Bowl titles in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.

The Patriots selected Jones with the 15th overall pick in 2021 and his career got off to a promising beginning. He started all 17 games, led the team to the playoffs, was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up and earned his lone Pro Bowl honor.

Jones missed three contests in 2022 due to an ankle injury and his numbers fell across the board.

The Alabama product bottomed out in 2023, starting the first 11 games of the year before being benched the rest of the way.

Jones had a particularly brutal stretch from Weeks 4-6, posting passer ratings of 39.9, 30.5 and 75.3 as New England scored just 20 points across the three games combined and went 0-3. He bounced back by leading the team to a Week 7 upset of the Buffalo Bills but again went into a slump, which culminated in a late-game benching in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts.

After the Patriots' bye week, Jones was benched mid-contest for the consecutive game in Week 12 against the New York Giants.

The 25-year-old was sent to the Jaguars in March in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick.