Trade leaves new regime to not repeat mistakes of predecessors
The Patriots are finalizing a trade to send Mac Jones to Jacksonville, ending his tumultuous tenure in New England and resetting their quarterback room.
Only three years ago, the Patriots drafted Jones with the 15th overall pick in hopes that he could serve as their next franchise quarterback. Instead, he won’t even finish his rookie contract. Although the trade cannot be completed until Wednesday, the official start of the league’s new year, the anticipated return is the Jaguars’ 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 192 overall).
The pending move all but confirms New England’s plans to take a quarterback in next month’s draft, as the organization continues to search for a longterm solution at the position. The downward trajectory of Jones’s career should serve as a cautionary tale to new coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf — a quarterback’s situation matters.
Wolf acknowledged the fact at the NFL Combine.
“The main thing is trying to do everything we can to support that person once we get them in the building,” Wolf said. “We’re going to make the best decision we can in terms of who that person is — if we decide to go quarterback at No. 3 — but really putting every resource and everything we have into that person to support them and make sure we get the best version of themself.”
As a rookie in 2021, Jones beat out incumbent Cam Newton during training camp for the starting job. He established a productive relationship with his top two receivers, Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne, in addition to offensive coordinator Josh Mcdaniels. After a slow start to the season, the Patriots entered their bye week atop the AFC with a 9-4 record.
The team collapsed to close the season, dropping three of their last four games, before getting torched by Buffalo, 47-17, in the wild card round of the playoffs. There was reason for optimism, though, within the organization. Just listen to how glowingly then-coach Bill Belichick spoke of Jones headed into his second training camp.
“I think Mac has done a great job,” Belichick said. “He’s worked extremely hard. He’s got a tremendous work ethic in all areas. I think there’s a dramatic improvement. His physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponents’ defenses, the situations — all those things.”
But Jones’s rookie year proved to be his best. After Mcdaniels left for a head coaching gig with the Raiders, the Patriots replaced him with Matt Patricia, a longtime defensive coordinator, and Joe
Judge, a longtime special teams coordinator. Judge was responsible for working with the quarterbacks, while Patricia called plays and coached the offensive line.
The result was a dysfunctional disaster. The offense and Jones both regressed significantly. By the end of the season, the frustration was out in the open for all to see via Jones’s emotional outbursts and poor body language. The Patriots ultimately moved on from Patricia, bringing in experienced offensive coordinator Bill O’brien for the 2023 season.
Even with O’brien, however, Jones and the offense declined precipitously. Through the first 11 games last season, the Patriots benched Jones four times in favor of Zappe. In his final starts, Jones lacked confidence and sound decision-making. He wilted under pressure. Deficiencies along the offensive line and at receiver only exacerbated the situation.
Jones officially lost his starting job in Week 13 and never took another snap for the Patriots. For the last game of the season, Belichick relegated him once more as one of the team’s inactive players.
Maybe Jones never had the capability to become a reliable starter in the NFL. Maybe he did and multiple poor organizational decisions stunted his development beyond repair. No matter how the blame is divided, it’s undeniable that the Patriots squandered two seasons of a first-round quarterback on a rookie deal.