The thought of the Patriots giving up on Mac Jones this early in his career seems far-fetched, and even the latest chatter isn’t doing much to make that widely-held opinion waver.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported that he heard chatter at the NFL Combine that the Raiders “might try to acquire Mac Jones from the Patriots, though it seems unlikely New England would consider moving the 2021 first-rounder.” He also mentioned that many people expect the Raiders to pursue Jimmy Garoppolo.
Of course, the Raiders wanting Jones and the Patriots being willing to part with him are two hugely different things. Jones had a great rookie season, but came crashing back down in 2022 as Belichick placed a lackluster coaching staff around him. With Bill O’Brien now in the fold, Jones is positioned for a bounce-back year.
Basically, there are a number of reasons why the Patriots wouldn’t entertain moving Jones. Appearing on “Gresh and Fauria,” NBC Sports Boston Patriots insider Tom Curran said New England moving Jones, even for a first-round pick, seems like a longshot.
“When I hear chatter, again, I think chatter means that some GM or Assistant GM is sitting there on his eighth Truly saying, ‘You know, I wouldn’t be surprised,’” Curran said. “And, OK, where is he hearing this? He’s probably hearing it from us, and we keep bringing it up, based upon very little.
“What would it take? Would a first-round pick from the Raiders, the (seventh) overall, entice Bill Belichick to move on from Mac Jones? Is Anthony Richardson better, for instance, than Mac Jones in Year 3, to give them a better chance to give Robert Kraft what he wants – which is a playoff appearance – or Bryce Young, or any of those quarterbacks?
“Because in my estimation, 2020 was a reset the Patriots expected, 2022 was a reset they didn’t expect. If they’re going to say yeah, this kid that we thought was outstanding last year, we screwed him up and now we want to move on from him so we can reset again -- seems like a bridge too far to me, even if a first-round pick was dangled.”
There would have to be a lot of stars aligning for such a thing to ever fall into place. It’s unlikely the Patriots would swing big for someone of the Aaron Rodgers or Lamar Jackson ilk, and beyond there are few options that would represent a substantial upgrade from Jones.
So then you’re looking at the draft route. The Patriots would have to be enamored with one of the quarterback prospects, and would have to know that he’d be available
Frankly, unless the Patriots are getting a can’t-miss quarterback, blowing up that position by trading Jones would be bizarre. There are more than a few other areas on the roster that need addressing, and focusing on revamping at quarterback would be a weird use of time.
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