Mac Jones Should 'Ask for Trade' from Patriots, Says ESPN's Dan Orlovsky
Is New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones suddenly in some sort of position of power?
That seems to be the view - skewed as it is - of ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, who is suggesting that if the second-year QB doesn't get what he wants, he should seek an exit from New England.
"If I was Mac Jones and his reps/team and this offseason there are no plans for a true/proven offensive coordinator to come into New England,'' Orlovsky wrote on Twitter in the wake of the Patriots' 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, "I would ask to be traded.''
Our bullet-point reactions ...
*Mac Jones was a first-round pick in 2021, helped the team to a playoff berth and even made the Pro Bowl. He has an Alabama pedigree and he has promise. But ...
*Mac Jones, just a few weeks removed from being embroiled in a mini-QB controversy with fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe - does not have the leverage to demand anything.
*Can public opinion change that? At this moment, Patriots fans - naturally spoiled by traditional success - don't seem especially enamored with coach Bill Belichick. But no, Mac Jones is not going to win a public pissing match with Bill Belichick.
*Is Orlovsky's point about the Patriots coordinator valid? Certainly. The Patriots "College of Coordinators'' approach is awkward at best, with Belichick, Joe Judge (with a special-teams background) and Matt Patricia (a defensive-minded coach) running the offense, seemingly with Patricia as the primary play-caller in this system. ...
And with Belichick all along being unnecessarily secretive about who's who.
It was a bad idea from the start ... now exposed as being even worse in practice.
*Is Orlovsky grandstanding here? Hard to tell. The former NFL backup QB has at times proven to be a keen analyst (especially when in the booth on college games) but at other times, in studio, demonstrates a belief that the fast track to riches is the Stephen A. Smith/Skip Bayless track.
So ... hard to tell.
*Is Jones' profanity-filled outburst, apparently directed at the Patriots coaching staff - "Throw the f**** ball! F**** quick game sucks! F***!" Jones barked on the sideline during the Bills game - impetus for change?
Maybe. But yelling "F***!'' fixes nothing. Spending the rest of this season trying to make the playoffs with a QB simmering about wanting out fixes nothing.
The "fix'' is in the hands of Bill Belichick, working with Mac Jones - and not working against one another - without silly secrecy or diva-esque demands.
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