Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones‘ climb to the QB1 job just steepened. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson revealed that the former New England Patriots third-year starting quarterback is headed to third-string duties for the Jaguars’ preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

‘HC Doug Pederson says C.J. Beathard will be the second QB up Saturday against the Chiefs,’ per Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union. ‘Mac Jones will be third, “For this game,” said coach Pederson.’

This leaves Trevor Lawrence, the Jags’ second-string quarterback last season, as Jacksonville’s starting quarterback in Saturday’s preseason game against the Chiefs.

Jaguars impressed with Mac Jones’ competitiveness 

All in all, Mac Jones is having fun with his new team. Since his arrival, Jones has been a great addition to the Jaguars’ locker room, which Jacksonville’s head coach Doug Pederson mentioned after practice Wednesday before revealing that those same positive vibes aren’t always on the same wavelength as Pederson’s or other members of the Jaguars’ coaching staff.

“He’s going to have a fun time no matter what,” Pederson said, per Jacksonville Jaguars’ YouTube page. “I think that’s just his personality. He’s great in the locker room; great with the guys. Sometimes, he drives us crazy with some of the stuff he does or says. But it’s good. I think it’s really good because when he gets in there, it’s business, and he’s a competitor, and he loves to compete.”

Pederson was asked for an example of something Jones said or did that drove him crazy.

“Just some of the things he says [are] out there,” Pederson said. “I can’t really repeat them all. It’s pretty interesting.”

The Jags’ offensive coordinator, Press Taylor, agreed with coach Pederson’s assessment of Jones.

“That’s a good way to describe it,” Taylor said. “What I love about Mac is that Mac loves football. He loves playing football, he loves talking football, which I think I’m very similar in that way, so we have a good rapport in that sense. Mac’s always having a good time, always talking. We talked about that before, so I’ve got no problem talking. We like to chirp back and forth every once in a while. It’s fun being in his headset, being able to talk to him and kind of rib him a little bit that you may not see or hear, and he gives it right back. I think we just have a good time competing and talking football.”

Jones is beginning a new chapter after a rough time with the Patriots, so it will be interesting to see how he grows in Jacksonville.