Mac Jones has been the Patriots starting quarterback for the last two years. New England gave him the job in his rookie season, and the Alabama product did a pretty good job. His second year, however, wasn’t that good.
Apart from almost losingthe job to Bailey Zappe, his team failed to make the playoffs. Jones’ regress is reflected on his stats: in 2021 he threw for3801 yards,22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while in 2022 he posted2,997 passing yards, 14 TD and 11 INTs.
The Patriots, however, have already started to make changes around him, hiring Bill O’Brien as their new offensive coordinator. Despite some rumors, it looks like moving on from Jones is not even an option for team owner Robert Kraft.
NFL Rumors: Robert Kraft won’t let Patriots trade Mac Jones
“Changing quarterbacks would happen over Robert Kraft’s dead body,” Tom Curran of NBC Sports Bostonsaid on the Rich Eisen Show. “We may talk about that in 2024 if it’s another mediocre season.
“Any speculation that Mac Jones would be trade bait or a trade object is absolutely cuckoo,” he continued. “Next year might be a different story. But this year, absolutely not.”
It makes sense, since Jones didn’t have such a bad season to lose his job. Mistakes are always part of the process, and he still has plenty of time to develop. This year, however, could be very telling.