The Mac Jones era in New England is over. As the Patriots look to draft a quarterback with the third overall pick, they decided to trade him away. The destination may have been questionable, but no Patriots fan is complaining. Jones is now headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft.
The Jaguars… Out Of All Teams?
See, there’s no chance Jones outplays Lawrence in camp and becomes the starting quarterback for the Jaguars. Despite his struggles last year (21 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions), Lawrence still threw for over 4,000 yards and led the team to a 9-8 record.
The former Clemson product had a better year in 2022, where he was a Pro Bowler and led the team to the playoffs after winning the AFC South. Jacksonville hopes he can get them back to the top of the division, but it will be tough because of the rising Houston Texans.
As for Jones, he will simply compete with C.J. Beathard for the backup job. Beathard is in the final year of his contract.
After all of this, it’s safe to say no one expected Mac Jones’s career to look like this. A bust on the Patriots, hopefully he can turn things around whether in Jacksonville or if he ends up somewhere else in the future.
As For New England, The Path Is Clear
It’s not a secret. The Patriots will most likely take a quarterback in this year’s draft. Unless they are hugely enamored by someone in free agency (Kirk Cousins or Jacoby Brissett), the third overall pick they possess will be a signal-caller.
The question is whether it will be Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels.
Funny thing to consider: if Bill Belichick was still calling the shots, we would have to think a guy like Brock Bowers or Joe Alt would be in the conversation just because of his history with drafting guys many don’t have mocked to them. All jokes aside, New England cannot mess this up. With the AFC East ruled by the Bills and Dolphins, getting back to competing for the division is a must under new head coach Jerod Mayo.
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