Latest update on Mac Jones career tailspin vindicates Patriots fans

The New England Patriots sent Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason in exchange for a sixth-round pick. It was the only way that saga ended, with Jones graduating into a full-time backup role as the Patriots finally moved on. It's almost ironic, since Bill Belichick was widely credited for Jones' downfall. Both departed this summer, and neither was able to find a stable job.

At least Jones is still in the league, for now. The Jags subsequently handed Trevor Lawrence one of the biggest contracts in NFL history, so there's not much upward mobility for Jones. He is cemented as the QB2, presumably leaned on if (and only if) Lawrence succumbs to injury during the season.

That's what we thought, at least, before training camp started. Jacksonville did give up a pick for Jones, so there is a vested interest in his success, even in a background role. According to the latest buzz from Jags camp, however, Jones' grasp on the backup role isn't as solid as we once thought.

Head coach Doug Pederson left the door wide open for 30-year-old C.J. Beathard to snatch Jones' title before he even gets a chance to claim it.

From the Jaguars' official website:

"It has been really close honestly. The addition of Mac was great for that room. It was great for C.J. Both those guys have really embraced the challenge. We’ve been upfront with both of them and explained exactly how camp was going to go and really both of them I think are within three or four reps of having a 50-50 split right down the middle. So, it’s been good. It’s been good competition."

So much for the Mac Jones revival project.

Mac Jones at risk of losing QB2 job with Jaguars

This should not come as a huge shock. Aside from that aberration Pro Bowl campaign as a rookie, Jones has always been closer to QB3 material than QB1 material. He benefitted, if that's the word we want to use, from a shoddy QB room in New England. The Patriots' best alternative was Bailey Zappe. Jones earned himself a lot of leeway with his rookie season. He gave both fans and the front office reason to believe that he could, in time, return to a level of respectability.

Eventually, it became clear that Jones was not getting back to that level. The NFL is always one big game of 'what if.' We know the Belichick relationship worked against Jones. The Alabama product was in an unstable environment on a god-awful team, victim to the league's worst offensive line and an utter lack of viable playmakers.

Maybe Jones' career would've turned out differently if he wasn't stuck in New England during Belichick's lame duck years. If he wasn't immediately tasked with "replacing" Tom frickin' Brady, the greatest football player of all time. It's hard not to feel bad for Jones, as easy as it is to fire off jokes. He was set up to fail in New England.

All the same, Jones arrived in Jacksonville at rock bottom. He has more talent around him with the Jags, but his developmental arc has already been thrown off track. With Lawrence cemented as QB1, Jones will spend his days working with the second (or third) unit offense. He is trending toward a career of backup quarterbacking, and it's difficult to chart a path back to consistently starting games at the NFL level.

New England fans could've predicted this. Anybody who watched Jones on a semi-regular basis last season (and especially those who watched C.J. Beathard's one 2023 start) probably would've told you that is a battle. If not them, the Jacksonville coaching staff has been open and honest about Jones' standing.