Mac Jones’ time with the New England Patriots is expected to come to an end in the coming weeks. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the former first-round draft pick out of Alabama is a trade candidate and likely to play elsewhere in 2024.
Rapoport wrote:
Even though Bill Belichick is gone, former first-round pick Mac Jones — who lost the starting role and ended up third string by the end of the 2023 season — is a trade candidate in the coming weeks and most likely will end up elsewhere for the 2024 season.
Jones being moved likely means the Patriots are honing in on taking a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are the top-three options on the board, and the Patriots will be in position to take one of them.
Of course, they aren’t locked into that decision regardless of what happens with Jones. They still have the option of moving forward with Bailey Zappe as a starter or signing a veteran option at quarterback in the offseason.
After a rough 2022 season, Jones fell deeper into the abyss in 2023 with 2,120 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. By the end of the season, he had fallen behind Zappe and backup Nathan Rourke on the depth chart. And to think, Jones was a Pro Bowler in his rookie season.
It’s an unexpected ending for one of the more promising quarterback starts in recent memory.
