The New England Patriots reportedly agreed to trade quarterback Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday as the quarterback shake-up across the NFL continued.
The two sides were finalizing the trade on Sunday with talks about a sixth-round pick being involved in the swap, ESPN reported. The deal cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday and once Jones passes a physical.
New England made Jones the quarterback of the future when he was selected No. 15 overall of the 2021 draft. He beat out Cam Newton in training camp and earned the starting job his rookie season.
The former Alabama standout led the Patriots to the playoffs in his rookie year and finished second in AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. He had 3,801 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes. He was the first Patriots quarterback to lead the team to the postseason since Tom Brady left.
But Jones’ performance in his second and third seasons with New England soured the confidence his coaches had in him. New England was 8-9 in 2022 and 4-13 in 2023. Jones gave up playing time to Bailey Zappe and the offense didn’t look like the well-oiled machine it had seemed to be.
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Jones finished the 2023 season with a 2-9 record in 11 starts. He had 2,210 passing yards with 10 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in that span. He never returned to the quarterback he was in his rookie season.
With new leadership installed in the organization, and the Patriots having a high draft pick, New England decided to move on from Jones. He will likely be the backup to Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.
The Patriots now appear ready to select a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft barring a free-agent signing.
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