Matthew Slater: I can’t believe how quickly Mac…

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No Patriots player has been on the team as long as special teams captain Matthew Slater, who is in his 14th season in New England. And Slater says rookie quarterback Mac Jones comes across like an old veteran.

Slater says that Jones isn’t just doing his job in the way he throws the football on Sundays. He’s also fitting in with the culture that has made the Patriots six-time Super Bowl winners.

“This kid is very serious about what he’s doing. He spends more time in this building than a lot of guys I can ever remember here,” Slater told Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I can’t believe how quickly he’s developed, as far as his understanding of the things we’re trying to do here — and that’s not just offensively. I’m talking about overall culture.”

When Bill Belichick made Jones the starter as a rookie, some thought that meant the Patriots were building for the future more than they were trying to win in the present. But Jones is playing well enough that the Patriots have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, this year. Few expected that in April.