Patriots rumors: Mac Jones trade sounds more likely now than ever before

Would the New England Patriots be better off without Mac Jones? A new report reveals that quarterback Mac Jones could be on the trading block this offseason.

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones’ future just got a lot murkier in 2023.

Fresh off hiring Bill O’Brien as their new offensive coordinator, the Pats could viably make a colossal change at the quarterback position. Two years after drafting Jones in the first round, New England hasn’t seen the Alabama product enjoy much success and may be willing to listen to trade offers for Jones this offseason.

That’s according to one NFL insider, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who thinks Jones’ behavior last season “didn’t sit well” with head coach Bill Belichick.

In a regular season loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jones went viral for yelling at then-OC Matt Patricia and the coaching staff, seemingly saying, “Throw the [expletive] ball, the run game sucks.”

His mini-tantrum was directed at the Pats offensive staff’s extra-conservative approach in games; now that New England hired an actual offensive coordinator to call plays on the offense, the Pats could field a very different team in 2023, one that may or may not include Jones.

Patriots: Mac Jones could be traded after latest report

After the 2022 season, Pats head coach Bill Belichick refused to answer outright whether Jones will be the team’s starter next year, immediately fueling rumors of a potential trade.

In mild contention for Jones’ starting spot is 2022 fourth-rounder Bailey Zappe, who started two games last season and helped the team score 29 points and 38 points in blowout wins against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

Zappe was, to say the least, a head-scratching pick back in the 2022 NFL Draft, sending pundits into an introspective spiral asking themselves, “Is Bill Belichick a genius? Or is he just crazy?”

Albert Breer elaborated on the Zappe situation saying the Pats organization may not see a “massive gap” between Jones and Zappe, though he also noted that he didn’t think a real trade offer for Jones would materialize this offseason.

It would be hard to imagine the Patriots replacing Jones with Zappe in 2023, but then again, Bill Belichick always has some crazy, half-baked ideas.