According to reports, the New England Patriots have shopped quarterback Mac Jones during the 2023 offseason. Are they already out on their 2021 top pick? This is quite the development coming out of New England.
After a brutal 2022 season, valid questions then arose about the viability of Mac Jones in the NFL as a true franchise QB. Here’s what Mike Florio had to say about the situation, who was first on this report:
"Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Belichick has shopped Jones to multiple teams during the 2023 offseason.The full list of potential destinations isn’t known. The teams mentioned as potential destinations were the Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers, and Commanders.Obviously, a trade hasn’t occurred yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. A team hoping to draft a quarterback could pivot to Jones, if that team doesn’t get the guy it wants."
Mac Jones was the 15th overall pick of the New England Patriots in the 2021 NFL Draft and was able to win the starting job from Cam Newton during his rookie season. In his rookie season, the Patriots had a top 10 scoring offense and went 10-7 in the regular season.
They were a balanced team and it seemed like Jones was going to settle in as the long-term solution for the team. In 2022, things went south, but many are not blaming Jones, as Bill Belichick replaced the departed Josh McDaniels with a defensive coach in Matt Patricia, which was a disaster for that side of the ball.
The main issue with Mac Jones, in my opinion, is that Jones’ ceiling is quite low and I’m not sure he’s going to ever be good enough to consistently win in the AFC. The best path forward for the Patriots might be to part with Jones now if that’s where they stand on the player.
They could make a run at Lamar Jackson or use their 14th overall pick in some way to try to land a rookie QB in 2023.