The New England Patriots have had a rough time since Tom Brady left. As of today, Mac Jones is the starting quarterback, but rumors say he could be traded soon. However, a former staffer of the team doesn't think these reports are true.
When Tom Brady left New England, Bill Belichick had a huge challenge: to find the best replacement possible. Of course it has not been an easy task and the team has struggled to compete without the legendary quarterback.
First, the Patriots tried with Cam Newton, but the former NFL MVP was a complete failure. Then, Mac Jones took the team, but his recent seasons have not been the best and that's why multiple reports indicated the team was interested in trading him this year.
Mike Lombardi says Mac Jones' trade rumors are not true
It has not been easy for the Patriots to overcome Brady's departure. The legendary quarterback left a huge space to fill, but unfortunately New England has not found a suitable replacement for him.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected Mac Jones with the 15th-overall pick. Unfortunately, he has been far from the expectations and rumors have said that the team is interested in trading him. However, Mike Lombardi thinks otherwise.
"The idea [Belichick] is shopping Mac is against everything he would do," the former assistant said on the "GM Shuffle" podcast, according to ESPN.com. "First of all, he's the most secretive person in the league. He's not going to tell you anything he's doing; even some people in the organization don't know.
"But if somebody comes to him and tells him, 'I'll give you a [first-round pick] for Mac,' does that mean he's shopping him? No. That just means somebody asked the question. I think we're at a semantical issue here. Did the Patriots mess up with their decision with the staffing [last season]? That's fairly obvious, and I think [Belichick's] admitted that. Was Mac Jones' behavior conducive to that of an ultimate leader? No. He's got to admit that too. So there's culpability on both sides. The only way they're going to improve is [acknowledging that] together."
According to reports, the Patriots were looking for possible squads interested in Jones. However, the team has not addressed this situation and, as of today, they will stick to the former Alabama quarterback for the 2023 campaign.
