Jonathan Jones knows what he wants to happen, but the veteran cornerback doesn’t know what will happen when free agency opens.
Jones hopes to return to the Patriots, repeating a belief it will “work out.”
“That’s the desire — to be back here,” Jones said Wednesday after speaking with girls and mentors from Big Sister Boston at the Patriots Hall of Fame in honor of International Women’s Day, via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald.
“It’s what I know. It’s what I love. It’s New England. It’s hard to say no to New England.”
Jones, 29, spent his first seven seasons with the Patriots. He has never tested free agency, but the team chose not to use the franchise tag on any of their free agents.
“There’s not much anxiety. You just take it in stride,” Jones said. “It’s something new for me. I’ve never been through free agency. But I just have faith it’ll all work out in the end.”
Realistically, if Jones hits the market, he likely ends up elsewhere. He is one of the top cornerbacks on the free agent market and ranks 27th overall on PFT’s top 100.
But Jones indicated “interest on both sides” to get a deal done before free agency begins.
“I can’t say that I have any insight that it would [get done before free agency], but it’s possible we could,” Jones said. “That would be great. If not, that’s just part of it. . . . At some point, I’d like to have it past me. But it’s going to be what it’s going to be. I think I’m just taking it in stride and enjoying the journey.”