Patriots' Mac Jones: Starting QB Label 'Doesn't Mean Much'; I Have to Produce

New England Patriots rookie Mac Jones won the quarterback battle this summer over Cam Newton, prompting the team to ultimately release his veteran counterpart. 

But Jones knows that simply winning the job is just the beginning of the work ahead. 

"Doesn't mean much," he told the Merloni & Fauria show on WEEI (h/t Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston) about being the starter. "The label is the label, but you gotta go out there and produce. That's what it comes down to."

Jones added that Newton was "obviously a really good mentor to me" and believes they'll remain in touch. 

"I never felt like we were butting heads or anything like that," he said. "Obviously Cam's a great guy and a great player, and hopefully he lands somewhere."

Being the starting quarterback for any NFL team comes with enormous pressure. But being the starting quarterback for the Patriots, after Tom Brady led the team to six Super Bowl titles in 20 years, is a different beast altogether. 

Jones has obviously gotten his career off to a strong start, winning the starting gig after throwing for 388 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions during the preseason, completing 69.2 percent of his passes. He did take five sacks, however. 

Nobody will expect the rookie to be as good as Brady in his career, let alone as a rookie. But the standards for quarterback play are pretty high in New England after the past two decades. 

Give Jones this, though—he has a unique way of ensuring he's prepared:

And he doesn't appear to lack for confidence. 

"Not really," he said on the Merloni and Fauria show when asked if he was surprised he won the starting job (h/t Zack Cox of NESN). "Like I always say, I prepare to be the starter... and I had a chance to get a lot of reps. So nothing really changes."

Well, one major thing changes—the games matter now. And if the Patriots aren't consistently winning them, the questions about whether Jones is ready to be the starter will soon follow.