As if there was any doubt that Mac Jones’ days with the New England Patriots were numbered, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is already on the move to the Jacksonville Jaguars. After only three seasons in Foxborough, Jones got dumped to Duval County on Sunday in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.
Forget not doing enough to earn a second contract after four or five seasons. Jones didn’t even make it through his rookie deal with the Pats. In providing additional context on the trade, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicated that the Jags felt they needed a viable backup behind Trevor Lawrence, and happened to choose the former No. 1 overall pick’s 2021 draft classmate.
What Fowler touches on in that second post is noteworthy. I’m a little surprised that Zach Wilson wasn’t the player Jacksonville targeted. There’s the obviously funny factor of having the first and second overall picks in 2021 in the same quarterback room. But just flat-out, Wilson his a far superior natural talent to Jones, and they’ve played comparably bad football amid terrible situations of late.
I guess the fact that Jones at least led the Patriots to the playoffs as a rookie gave him a leg up.
By most accounts, though, Jones has kind of a sh*thead personality, whereas Wilson was at least well-liked in the Jets locker room. Teammates go to bat for him at a surprising rate, although some of that likely stems from the Jets’ dysfunction with Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator.
Instances of New England players publicly stumping for Jones seem few and far between by comparison.
Jones was an abysmal QB in 2023 even with the benefit of upgrading from Matt Patricia to Bill O’Brien as his play-caller. The mid caliber of arm talent between Jones and Bailey Zappe was frankly appalling to behold. Once again, GM Bill Belichick failed Head Coach Bill Belichick.
It’s kind of shocking to see how bad Belichick’s last four years were. SIx Super Bowls buys somebody a lot of goodwill, yet going out with such a whimper and so many misses in personnel decisions on offense leaves a noticeable blemish on an otherwise sterling legacy.
Evidently, the Jaguars believe that Jones can flourish under the tutelage of Doug Pederson. Bear in mind that Pederson was the head coach of the Eagles once upon a time, and resurrected the career of Nick Foles to the point where he bested Belichick, Patricia, Tom Brady and the Patriots as the Super Bowl LII MVP. In an ironic twist, Foles left Philly to be the Jags’ highly-paid franchise QB, only to be traded the following year to Chicago. What a strange league this can be, right?
I know the 2024 QB draft class is supposed to be loaded, and that New England is shipping Jones away in part because they’re likely to draft somebody No. 3 overall to be the new face of the organization. However, given how awful 2021’s first-round group of Lawrence, Jones, Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance has turned out as a whole, maybe it’s time to pump the brakes on all the excitement for a second.
Some humorous and pointed reactions are pouring in about Jones going to Jacksonville. Enjoy some of the best below, starting with a prominent local Pats reporter teeing off on Belichick.
