Patriots fans might not be the only ones wondering if it's time to make a change at quarterback after a down year for the passing offense.
Starting left tackle Trent Brown got caught liking a post from the NFL on ESPN's Instagram account that contained a quote from analyst Bill Barnwell suggesting New England should target Tom Brady and/or Jimmy Garoppolo this off-season.
"The Patriots have to at least call Brady's people to inquire whether he would like to return to New England to finish out his career," the Barnwell quote reads, adding they could also pursue Garoppolo.
Social media likes don't necessarily have to mean much, but Brown apparently being on board with the Patriots bringing back one of the team's old quarterbacks doesn't read as a ringing endorsement of Mac Jones.
The second-year quarterback struggled mightily against the Raiders on Sunday, throwing for just 112 yards and completing only 13 of his 31 pass attempts, and has been fighting a losing battle with the Patriots' disastrous offensive system all season. He's not the main problem with the offense and has at times performed admirably despite the dysfunction, but he certainly wasn't the solution on Sunday.
Brady, meanwhile, is playing out the string on a bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that isn't a lock to make the playoffs and almost certainly would be exiting it early if they did get into the postseason. Garoppolo got his starting job back with the San Francisco 49ers due to an early injury to Trey Lance and had played solid football, but he too is now on injured reserve with a foot injury and is all but assured to play elsewhere in 2023.
Either might be a better option than Jones on paper, but one still needs to consider the supporting cast element to this. The Patriots must find themselves a new offensive play-caller for 2023 with Matt Patricia proving he can't do the job, and the team also needs to upgrade its skill positions to truly maximize the addition of a player like Brady, who will be 46 next season, or Garoppolo, who could command good money as a starting-caliber quarterback.
In the meantime, it's up to Brown to protect Jones -- something the big tackle wasn't doing particularly well over the last month or so -- and give him a shot against three tough opponents to close the season. After that, we'll see what happens with Jones and Brown himself, who also isn't guaranteed a place on next year's team.
