There’s been speculation as to whether New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will remain on the team for the 2024 season. NFL insider Albert Breer believes the organization will move on from the quarterback in a new report earlier this week.
Jones had a difficult season last year. He tallied 2,120 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was benched multiple times throughout the course of the 2023 season.
He also had problems off the field with him and coach Bill Belichick having a strained relationship. Things were a bit murky in the quarterback room as well, as the communication between Jones and Bailey Zappe faltered.
Breer believes that Jones will not remain on the team, and he elaborated on his point, when asked if Patriots coach Jerod Mayo would give Jones another shot at being a starter in a column for Sports Illustrated:
It’s not that I think Jones is a lost cause. It’s that his cause in New England is lost. …It’s really hard to live down your history with an NFL team, and Jones’s with the New England Patriots is not good. He was drafted 15th and hasn’t come close to living up to his slot. He was good as a rookie, and regressed badly since. He was well-liked early on, but, over time, lost support in the building. And the quarterback room he was in the last two years got toxic, to the point where Bailey Zappe, as a rookie, sometimes watched tape in the receiver room.
That’s a lot of wounds, some self-inflicted, some not, to try and heal—and wounds that Jerod Mayo saw surface with his own eyes as a Patriots assistant. You can’t snap your fingers and make that history disappear with coaches and staff. What happens if Jones comes back and has some bumps in the offseason, in camp or in an early game? Everyone will point right back to the history. Which makes for a tough environment for Jones to try and move forward in, and potentially a tough spot for Mayo to dig his first team out of.
The Patriots undoubtedly need a playmaker in the quarterback room. They are in a good spot to do so, as they have the third overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.
The quarterback position in this year’s draft is very top-heavy. Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne advocated for LSU star quarterback Jayden Daniels earlier in the month. Drake Maye has also been floated around as a possibility for the Patriots in mock drafts
Whatever the case may be, a fresh start for Jones may be needed, as the quarterback looks to regain his confidence. Whether or not that fresh start will come in New England remains to be seen.
