Former New England Patriots offensive guard Shaq Mason knows a thing or two about the hard work it takes to excel at the quarterback position.
How would he not?
He stood along the offensive front as one of the enforcers of the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, Tom Brady. That was followed up with a year with former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
However, more recently, Mason competed in the trenches for Mac Jones, who made his rookie debut in 2021, which was Mason’s final year with the Patriots. The two-time Super Bowl champion remembers that season very well and even compared it to his current situation with the Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft.
“He was a rookie that year, and one thing I can take from that is him—and pass it along to C.J. as well—you know, rookie [quarterbacks] have to put in a little more than everybody else on the team,” Mason told media members. “That’s just kind of how that worked out, and Mac had a good amount of success his rookie year. And I think C.J. will have a good amount of success. I know he’s willing to put the time and effort in.”
Shaq Mason on his last season in NE & what he observed from Mac Jones progression during the QBs rookie year that could help CJ #Texans pic.twitter.com/Gvh8bhTHjT
— Shaun Bijani (@ShaunBijani) May 4, 2023
Jones’ work ethic as a rookie can’t be denied considering he finished the year as a Pro Bowler. That was also the season when the Patriots still had offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and better offensive play-calling overall.
We’ll see if Stroud can hit the ground running in Houston, while Jones aims at a bounce-back year in New England.
