Mac Jones latest benching gives Patriots clear choice before trade deadline

Following a terrible performance that got him benched in Week 4, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones played even worse in Week 5.

New England took a 34-0 loss at home against the New Orleans Saints. Jones completed 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions. Last week he threw multiple interceptions as well. For the second consecutive week, the former Alabama QB was benched by head coach Bill Belichick.

It is now clear that he isn't the best option for New England, and they should consider looking for a new starter. Now at 1-4, it seems like Robert Kraft's team will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

At just 25 years old, Jones could still turn his career around. It just doesn't seem like he will get a chance to do that with the Patriots. Moving the former first-round pick might be the best course of action to take, as both sides could benefit from moving apart.

With the upcoming draft class being stacked with QBs, the Patriots might be inclined to take a chance on one of the prospects. Big names such as Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Shedeur Sanders will be available in the draft. Even after those three, there are still a ton of other talented options.

Should the Patriots trade Jones before the deadline?

New England has a slim chance of reaching the postseason. It might be time to hit the reset button and go into full rebuild mode. Trading the 25-year-old QB would certainly bring in some draft capital, as there could be a few contending teams that would value him as a backup.

It would be a blow to the Patriots fan base, as they had high hopes for the 2021 first-round pick. We've seen teams take flyers on young QBs like Jones. A few years ago the New York Jets were able to move Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a second, fourth, and sixth-round pick.

It would be wise for the Patriots to try and acquire draft capital in exchange for their young QB. As much as he's struggled, the organization hasn't gotten him reliable weapons. They even used a special teams coordinator and a defensive coordinator as offensive coordinator last year. Yes, that's confusing, now imagine if you were Jones.

Prepping for the future is something that Belichick and Kraft didn't want to do after losing Tom Brady in 2020. Without the seven-time Super Bowl Champion, New England hasn't found a way to get back to its old winning ways.

It's going to be a hard decision, as the team had high hopes for Jones. Throughout last season and now this season, it looks like his future with the Patriots could be coming to an end soon.