Filling Tom Brady’s shoes as the quarterback of the New England Patriots was going to be a tall task for whoever the franchise tabbed as its next starting quarterback. Fresh off of an undefeated season, a national championship win, and a Heisman Trophy ceremony appearance, [autotag]Mac Jones[/autotag] was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2021 draft.
After making a Pro Bowl appearance in his rookie season, things began to trend in the wrong direction for Jones in Foxborough. Jones has been in and out of the lineup as he has had to split time with Bailey Zappe after poor performances and a divided locker room.
The Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick this off-season and hired Jerod Mayo, the team’s linebacker coach. With a changing of the guard, there are no guarantees as to what will happen at the quarterback position moving forward, especially with a high-end pick in this year’s draft. However, NFL Senior Reporter Albert Breer predicts that Jones’s time as the quarterback of the Patriots has come to a close.
“It’s not that I think Jones is a lost cause. It’s that his cause in New England is lost,” writes Breer. “It’s really hard to live down your history with an NFL team, and Jones’s with the New England Patriots is not good. He was drafted 15th and hasn’t come close to living up to his slot. He was good as a rookie, and regressed badly since. He was well-liked early on, but, over time, lost support in the building. And the quarterback room he was in the last two years got toxic, to the point where Bailey Zappe, as a rookie, sometimes watched tape in the receiver room.”
If New England does decide to move on from Jones, he will likely get another opportunity with a different franchise. On a team with some talent in the receiving room, I could see Jones thriving.
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