We now know that New England Patriots head coach and quasi general manager Bill Belichick has shopped Mac Jones throughout the 2023 offseason.
This report comes to us via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and is an absolute stunner. New England selected Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The quarterback put up an absolutely stellar rookie campaign en route to leading New England to a surprise playoff appearance.
Things took a turn for Jones as a sophomore. His inconsistencies coupled with poor offensive coaching led to a downtick in production. Jones then found himself in Belichick’s dog house. We also know that New England is high on 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe.
Internally, there’s a belief that the gap between Zappe and Mac Jones just isn’t too wide. This could very well lead to New England opting to get draft assets for Jones while installing Zappe as its starting quarterback.
There’s another scenario in play that suggests the Pats would simply swap Jones out for a high pick in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. Either way, there is a strong market for a young quarterback of Jones’ ilk. Let’s look at five ideal landing spots.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NFL trade rumors
Minnesota Vikings add young starting quarterback
There are other rumors floating about that the San Francisco 49ers showed renewed interest in Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins during the recently-concluded NFL Scouting Combine. While that seems to be an unlikely scenario, Minnesota has not committed to Cousins beyond the 2023 season. There’s a reason for this. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Co. want to get younger at that position.
The idea here would be to entice New England with multiple early-to-mid-round picks as a way to lure Jones from the Patriots. Jones would sit behind Cousins for a season before ultimately taking over in 2024. If Minnesota ends up dealing Cousins this offseason, Jones would be more than capable of starting Week 1.
Los Angeles Rams find Matthew Stafford’s heir-apparent
From a financial perspective, Los Angeles is seemingly stuck with Matthew Stafford through at least next season. While the team has torn it apart this offseason, moving off the high-priced quarterback would result in a $51 million dead cap hit. With that said, the Rams could trade Stafford next offseason while saving $31 million against the cap.
Either way, general manager Les Snead needs to look at the future of the Rams’ quarterback position beyond Stafford. If Jones’ 2021 performance is any indication, he could make sense.
- Mac Jones stats (2021): 67.6% completion, 3,801 yards, 22 TD, 13 INT, 92.5 QB rating
Los Angeles boasts the 36th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Perhaps it could offer that up to aquire Jones from the Pats. The Rams would still then have nine picks to help fill the massive amount of holes that they boast.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated 2023 NFL mock draft
Mac Jones heads to the Las Vegas Raiders
Wouldn’t this be something? Rumors are circulating that the Raiders might end up making a play for another former Patriots quarterback. It’s interesting in that the team signed both Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer earlier this offseason. Why not make it a trifecta?
What we do know is that Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler have a built-in relationship with Jones dating back to their days in New England. The duo joined Belichick in spearheading the selection of Mac Jones back in 2021. This can’t be ignored. As an aside, Vegas can actually move off Garoppolo after one season with a $13 million cap savings. It is not financially linked to the pedestrian quarterback beyond that.
San Francisco 49ers pull off stunner
It was just two calendar years ago that San Francisco was linked to Jones more than any other team leading up to the draft. General manager John Lynch had just pulled off a blockbuster trade for the No. 3 pick in the annual event. Jones seemed destined for Northern California.
We know how that turned out. The 49ers surprisingly selected small-school product Trey Lance with the third past. Fast forward two years, and it’s an open question whether Lance has a future with the 49ers.
- Mac Jones contract: 4 years, $15.59 million, $4.25 million cap hit in 2023
The youngster was injured early in his sophomore campaign with then-rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy playing at an historical level en route to leading San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game. This is a long-form way of saying that Jones could actually make sense for the Super Bowl contenders.
In this scenario, San Francisco sends two of its third-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and a future second-rounder to acquire Jones. It then moves Lance to another team in order to acquire more draft capital. That would lead to a quarterback room consisting of Jones, Purdy and free-agent signing Sam Darnold.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NFL QB rankings for 2023
Blockbuster Lamar Jackson, Mac Jones trade
It’s been noted on a never-ending loop that New England is not in on Lamar Jackson. Perhaps it doesn’t want to send the required two first-round picks to the Baltimore Ravens with the former NFL MVP being under the franchise tag.
Even then, there’s a broader appeal to the idea that Jackson ultimately signs his tag tender with Baltimore to help facilitate a trade. Reports suggest that he would love to play for New England.
Under this hypothetical, New England sends Mac Jones and its first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to Baltimore for Jackson. Belichick finally finds his long-term heir-apparent to Tom Brady. In turn, Baltimore adds a young starting quarterback and the 14th overall pick in the draft. It would be a win-win.
See exclusive Sportsnaut videos on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.