ESPN: Patriots QB Michael McCorkle “Mac” Jones just announced his departure on joining Alabama.
Uncertainty is the theme of the quarterback position for the New England Patriots at this point of the offseason.
“Right now, everything is on the table,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said of the possibility of Mac Jones being the 2024 starter or ending up elsewhere, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. He also said the coaching staff is in an evaluation period when it comes to the roster as a whole.
That is not a surprising position to be in during the early stages of the offseason.
After all, there will be a new head coach in charge in Jerod Mayo, the NFL Scouting Combine hasn’t started yet, there are still more than two months until the NFL draft and free agency doesn’t begin until March 13.
New England, along with every other team in the league, has time to weigh its options and make a decision.
But that hasn’t stopped plenty of speculation about Jones’ future, as Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported earlier this month that the quarterback “is a trade candidate in the coming weeks and most likely will end up elsewhere for the 2024 season.”
New England also owns the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, which puts it in position to choose from whichever signal-caller falls to it from the group of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
The NFL Network report noted “all indications” suggest the Patriots will “seriously explore taking one of the draft’s top QBs.”
That will allow the franchise to start anew during the Mayo era, especially after Jones failed to live up to the expectations placed on his shoulders as a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
While he showed signs of promise as a Pro Bowler as a rookie, he went 2-9 as a starter in 2023 with 10 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions. He was benched during the season, and one team source told Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal last month “everyone’s watched him play, they’ve watched him act like a prima donna. The team is sick of it, everyone’s sick of it.”
Given those comments, Jones’ overall struggles and the Patriots’ draft positioning, a quarterback switch seems like the most likely outcome in New England this offseason.
