There’s a growing consensus that Mac Jones is on the outs in New England, but according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, there are still some within the organization hopeful that he’s able to make a turnaround.
The former first-round draft pick fell off a cliff in his third year as the Patriots’ quarterback. Things surprisingly got even worse than the catastrophic 2022 season with Matt Patricia as the offensive coordinator.
Yet, despite Jones’ struggles, it wasn’t a situation where everything was his fault, either.
The Patriots failed tremendously in acquiring the necessary offensive talent to be competitive in a much-improved AFC East division. They lacked explosive receiver talent, and the offensive line was an absolute mess. The 2023 Patriots offense would have made anyone look bad.
Reiss wrote:
New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Wednesday that “everything is on the table” when asked if he could envision a scenario in which Jones is the 2024 starter. And some within the organization seem hopeful Jones can make a U-turn in New England, but that hardly seems unanimous, which means Jones would have to win over many people.
Perhaps Van Pelt and the new coaching staff believe they can get more out of Jones than Belichick was able to over the years. There’s still a talented quarterback in there somewhere considering he was selected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season.
But then again, there’s also the possibility that a change of scenery would create the best chances of that player once again resurfacing. Perhaps the relationship in New England has ran its course.
