Bill Belichick not at all interested in discussing whether Mac Jones is a dirty player

BOSTON -- Mac Jones was fined by the NFL this week for a low block delivered on Bengals cornerback Eli Apple.

That incident has thrust the second-year quarterback into a national spotlight of sorts, as a handful of plays in his brief career have been replayed over and over again on social media, with players, fans and media members chiming in on whether Jones is a dirty player.

One person who is not interested in joining that debate is Bill Belichick.

The Patriots' head coach held his normal Friday press conference at Gillette Stadium, as his team prepares for a must-win game at home against the Miami Dolphins. At the end of that media session, Belichick faced a series of questions from the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan about Jones and the budding storyline of his on-field actions that many have deemed "dirty." Belichick did his best to avoid the subject.

Reporter: Bill, we broached this topic on Wednesday, some other players' opinions of reference as far as Mac being potentially a dirty players. I know you said you'd have to talk to them about that, I don't know. But speaking for yourself, do you think Mac in your experience, is a dirty player?

Belichick: Yeah, I'm not gonna sit up here and comment about -- I mean, we can go through the rest of our roster and ask the same questions, right? About different things about players and all that. Like, I'm not gonna get into any of that.

Reporter: Yeah, it just seems unusual for one player who's had some controversy as of late, which -- whether it's a big deal or not, your opinion isn't clear.

Belichick: Yeah, right now, my focus is on the Miami Dolphins. It's not on some other game, some other play, some other year, what somebody else said or didn't say. Like, we're trying to get ready for the Dolphins, and so that's where it's at. So honestly, I don't even think about those things.

Reporter: Do you think at all when I ask you if your quarterback is a dirty player, and I know things you would say to us you would say to any of the players ...

Belichick: Again, I'm thinking about the Dolphins. That's really what I'm thinking about. So I'm not gonna go into like, last year or somebody else's comments, some other game, some other situation. Like, I don't know -- whatever it is, it is. Whatever was called was called, that's what it is. And I'm on to the Dolphins. So I'm gonna do as good a job as I can to prepare our team for that, and that's what it's gonna be.

Reporter: Do you think you run the risk at all of alienating your quarterback when I ask if he's dirty and you don't say yes or no?

Belichick: Yeah, I have a good relationship with all the players. I talk to all the players. I talk to the team every day, talk to the players individually on an as-needed basis or for anything that's relevant, so I feel comfortable in my relationship with every player, every coach, every staff member, if that's what you're asking. I feel very comfortable with every one of 'em. So that's what I base it on -- not what somebody else thinks or what somebody else says. I base my relationships on my direct relationship with that person. That's what I feel like is important. You want to construct it differently, then that's up to you. But that's not the way I do it.

The second-to-last question had been announced as the final question, but Belichick did remain at the podium for the final question, just to hammer home his point.

That point, quite clearly, was that everybody else can debate whether or not Jones is dirty. Belichick will be keeping himself out of the conversation.