Will New England Patriots Trade Mac Jones?
As the NFL season chugs along, it's becoming more and more clear that the New England Patriots aren't comfortable with Mac Jones at quarterback.
Just two years removed from Jones leading the team to the playoffs, the Patriots are bursting at the seams and the result is a football team without much direction. Therefore, it's probably in their best interest to find another quarterback.
It could be in the Patriots' best interest to have Jones as a backup to help usher in a new rookie, but New England may find even more value in trading him.
"New England failed him in 2022 by not hiring an offensive coordinator and benching him temporarily anyway. It hasn't improved with Bill O'Brien calling plays in 2023, and Jones has reportedly lost the support of most teammates," Bleacher Report writes. "Jones played well enough in 2021 to suggest that he can be a starter in a quality environment. In all likelihood, that turnaround needs to happen at a new organization."
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones
USA Today Sports
It remains to be seen if Jones can lead another team to the playoffs, or if any other team would take a shot with him as the starter. Bleacher Report suggests that there could be four teams that make sense for a Jones trade this offseason.
"San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is an ideal person for a reclamation project, and Los Angeles Rams boss Sean McVay also has that upside," Bleacher Report writes. "Both the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants have injury concerns with Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones, respectively."
All of those teams could eye quarterback help this offseason, but it's hard seeing any of those teams ditch a starter for Jones. But as we've seen in the NFL, having a solid backup is important, which is why the Patriots may want to keep him. However, it could also benefit New England to part ways and give both sides a fresh start.
That being said, it's going to be hard for another team to give Jones the keys to the franchise in 2024. He could have a trajectory like Baker Mayfield is having with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Geno Smith with the Seattle Seahawks, but both of those players had to be a backup for a bit, and Jones may suffer the same fate.
