FOXBOOUGH – It’s hard to believe, but along with Christian Gonzalez and Jabrill Peppers, Marcus Jones is now a veteran leader in the Patriots locker room.

Jones is entering his fourth year in the league and thanks to all of the departures from the Patriots locker room, Jones is one of a few guys left that’s been here for three different eras now between Belichick, Mayo and Vrabel.

Jones is a fairly quiet guy who lets his explosiveness on the field do all the talking. But, now that there’s an entirely new dynamic in the Pats locker room, he knows that he may start having to lead different ways, including becoming a little bit louder.

“In this league, I mean, change happens 24/7,” Jones said when speaking with the media on Tuesday afternoon. “Due to that, we all respect all the guys that ended up coming through the locker room before, but it’s a new year and we’re happy for the guys that are going to be captains and guys that are going to pave the way for us for the future.

“The main thing I would say how it changes for me is I’m always a lead by example type of guy. But then, the challenge is also I’m not crazy vocal whenever it comes down to it. But, now I need to start being a little more vocal and just kind of going from there.”

The good news for fans and both Jones and Vrabel is that the two actually have some familiarity with each other. Jones visited the Titans during the pre-draft process when Vrabel was the head coach there.

“I actually met Mike during the pre-draft process…he was a great guy when I met him back then” Jones said. I took a pre-draft visit and just basically getting to know (Vrabel) as a person and everything. It was great to talk to him (when he got hired). It was normal conversations and everything…I’m happy to be back in the building. He brings that excitement and also, he’s one of those guys to where whenever we are doing something, he likes to be hands on.

“So, just having that in the building and this, you know…having the music playing and the excitement and everything in the hallways, it’s great to be around.”

Between Gonzalez, Jones and new signee Carlton Davis, the Pats have a chance to have one of the most elite cornerback groups in the league.

The only question is, which one of them will rise to the occasion and be the leader of that group as the team transitions into this new phase of New England Patriots football?