Former Patriot Jermaine Wiggins believes Mac Jones is a dirty player

Fair or not, Mac Jones is earning a reputation as a dirty player. And one former Patriot is coming down on the side that says the quarterback isn’t an angel on the field.

He’s Jermaine Wiggins, the one-time Georgia Bulldog who played tight end for the Patriots, earning a Super Bowl ring with them in February 2002. That also was Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl win.

The Mac Jones topic came up Tuesday during The Greg Hill Show. Wiggins is a co-host of the daily program. Now, Wiggins has no personal, first-hand knowledge of what Jones does or doesn’t do on the field. But he is a sharp observer who knows what can happen in the middle of a scrum.

He said the Sauce Gardner incident from Sunday’s Patriots game against the Jets is enhancing Jones’ rep.

Wiggins also compared Mac Jones’ play to someone like Rodney Harrison, who dealt hits at full speed.

“When you’re just playing 100 mph, 110 mph and you’re hitting guys, there’s a difference between playing to the echo of the whistle and then being a guy who’s a cheap-shot artist who’s dirty,” Wiggins said. “When Mac’s chasing or behind a play, and a guy’s running behind him and he’s nowhere in the play, and then he drops down and cuts the guy, that’s a dirty play.”

Mac Jones may face a fine from the NFL for what he might’ve done to Gardner. Here’s what happened in the fourth quarter. Jones, via quarterback sneak, tried to convert a fourth-and-one. As everyone got up, Jones stuck out his hand towards Gardner, asking for help to get back on his feet. Gardner said he ignored Jones. Then he said that once Jones did get up, he walked past Gardner and gave him a punch to the crotch. Gardner shoved him to the ground and then dropped a few words his way.

“He got up and he just came up to me like ‘Good job,’” Gardner told reporters. “While he was saying that, he hit me in my private parts. I didn’t react like I really wanted to. … I definitely wasn’t expecting that. First time for everything I guess.”

Gardner also said he needed to ice his groin injury, telling reporters “He’s trying to stop me from having kids in the future.”

The league fined Mac Jones on Jan. 1 for what could be loosely called a block he made on Bengals cornerback Eli Apple after an interception. Apple accused him of diving for his feet to trip him. The NFL agreed, fining Jones $13,367. About a month before, the league office fined the quarterback $10,609 for unsportsmanlike conduct in a loss to the Bills.

Mac Jones said he didn’t do anything “intentional” towards Gardner. Still, the league does have the video.