Mac Jones’ spiral should serve as a warning for Patriots’ new regime

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

Mac Jones and the New England Patriots are no longer a match. Their pairing worked for only one year, even if it lasted three. New England has agreed to terms to send the 25-year-old quarterback to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a source close to Jones confirmed on Sunday. 

And hopefully, the Patriots have learned the harsh realities of developing a young quarterback in today’s NFL. It’s a temperamental process and one that requires as many soft skills as hard X’s and O’s. 

With Bill Belichick now out of the picture, a new Patriots regime, led by de facto GM Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo, is going to try the same process — and hope for a different result. 

When the Patriots get on the board at No. 3 overall in this year’s draft, they will almost certainly select a quarterback. (At least, they should.) 

But New England can’t do with Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy what it did with Jones, which was a systematic and emotional spiral. Everyone was to blame, including Jones, of course. But it’s reminder that even the greatest organizations can ruin promising players.

Just look back at Jones from 2021. He led the Patriots to the playoffs during his rookie season with a 67.6 completion percentage, 3,802 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. With offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels overseeing the offense and Belichick running the defense, the Patriots made the playoffs for the first and only time following Tom Brady’s departure. After a 10-7 season, New England lost in blowout fashion to the Bills in Buffalo in the wild-card round.

At the time, that Patriots loss felt like a moral victory. It was something to build upon. Sure, Jones had lost out on the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award to Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, but he had had the most success of all the QBs in his draft class. Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence had a brutal rookie season with a putrid…

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Publish date : 2024-03-10 19:35:08

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