After making a Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021, things have gone off a cliff for quarterback Mac Jones in his run with the New England Patriots.
It’s quite jarring to see the rapid decline from where Jones started to where he is right now in his quarterback journey. In Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants, he didn’t even look good enough to be a backup in the NFL.
He was outplayed by New York Giants rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito and benched in the second half in a 10-7 loss.
The Patriots haven’t done a great job of surrounding Jones with the necessary talent to succeed at the NFL level, and some have wondered if the former first-round draft pick would be interested in a fresh start with another team.
“I mean, I’m good right now,” Jones said, when appearing on “Jones & Mego.” “I really want to be the quarterback here. I’ve always wanted to be a quarterback in the NFL, and specifically for the Patriots. Like I said, I’ve got a lot of room to grow and everything, and I’m going to just continue to work hard and do all the things I can to put myself in a position to have success.”
The ship might have sailed on Jones being the long-term option at quarterback for the Patriots. Barring a magical turnaround in the final six games of the season, New England seems to be heading in the direction of drafting a new quarterback in 2024 and rebooting the offense.
It would be a tough way to end things for Jones, who seemed like the perfect fit to lead the Patriots in the post-Tom Brady era two years ago.
