NFL passes on fining Mac Jones for below-belt punch of Sauce Gardner

A lack of video evidence probably saved Mac Jones some cash this week. Same for Sauce Gardner. That’s because the NFL passed on fining either one.

Surely you heard about the Jones-Gardner ruckus when the Patriots took on the Jets. Gardner, who loves social media, amplified the incident on X. And suddenly there were stories about whether Mac Jones was a dirty player. Seems he’s known for throwing an elbow or tweaking a body part to get an advantage.

But first, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who called what Jones supposedly did to Gardner a “cup check, said sources told him there would be no fines.

“Any discipline would’ve required sufficient video evidence to support Sauce Gardner’s accusation. In this case, there wasn’t enough,” Pelissero shared on X.

The NFL didn’t fine #Patriots QB Mac Jones for his actions in last week’s game against the #Jets, per sources.

Any discipline would’ve required sufficient video evidence to support Sauce Gardner’s accusation. In this case, there wasn’t enough. pic.twitter.com/xbHPydHdZA

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 30, 2023

Earlier this week, Gardner wanted to get ahead of the Mac Jones story, just in case the NFL was looking at him being the instigator. So he shared a video clip on his social media that shows him pushing Jones. Why did he do that? The shove came after a scrum over a fourth-down quarterback sneak.

In the fourth quarter of the game, Mac Jones converted the down, with CJ Mosley getting credit for the tackle. Then, Jones stuck his hand out and asked Gardner for help up off the turf. Gardner said he ignored Jones and pushed his hand out of the way.

Once Jones dusted himself off, he walked up to Gardner and offered a verbal head fake.

“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.”

So Gardner said he needed to ice his privates after the game. “He’s trying to stop me from having kids in my future,” the cornerback joked.

But Mac Jones said it never happened. No punch, no foul, no fine.

“It’s kind of like the famous quarterback sneak that everybody does,” Jones told WEEI. “All the guys on both teams are in there. It can get pretty physical. That’s something that I have to learn from is getting my pads a little lower so I can get it and not get held up.”

He also told WEEI: “On that play, nothing was intentional. I just got up and went back to the huddle, and that’s it.”

Jones defended himself some more. He just likes to compete.

“Like I said, I can’t control that stuff,” Jones said. “I try to be really competitive and go out there and be a good teammate and compete, and come to work every day and work hard and put a lot of hours into it. I definitely care about football a lot and this game means a lot to me and it means a lot a lot of other guys that I play with so I hope that they can see that.”

Mac Jones and the Patriots are in Texas for a Sunday afternoon game against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. We’ll see how “competitive” he is if he’s in a scrum with Micah Parsons, who also is a social media star poster.