NFL insider on Mac Jones trade rumors: Patriots ‘wouldn’t get great value for him’
Mac Jones's name reportedly came up in trade discussions this offseason
The Patriots mentioned Mac Jones’s name in trade talks with multiple teams this offseason, according to Albert Breer of the MMQB.
“I think what happened was, and I’ve got this on good authority,” Breer said. “While those calls are being made during the combine, before free agency, when teams are talking about names back and forth, Mac Jones’s name came up a few times.”
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported earlier this week that the Patriots were shopping Jones, and mentioned four teams (Las Vegas, Houston, Tampa Bay, and Washington) as potential destinations.
“Mike Florio presented the four teams, I know a couple of them at least didn’t hear from the Patriots on Mac Jones,” Breer said during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston. “I don’t think Florio presented it that way either, he said those are teams that could potentially be involved. He didn’t say those were the teams that the Patriots were shopping him to.”
Multiple reporters pushed back the notion that the Patriots shopped Jones. A source told Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald that it was “nonsense.” MassLive’s Mark Daniels cited a source that said “that’s news to me.” Jeff Howe of the Athletic wrote that Bill Belichick did not call teams about Mac Jones.
Breer said that while he’s heard Jones’ name has come up in trade discussions, it’s unlikely that the Patriots would get enough in return to actually trade him.
“I think part of the issue now is that they wouldn’t get great value for him.”
Trading Jones in the immediate aftermath of a disastrous sophomore season probably wouldn’t be the optimum time to get a strong return for the 2021 first-round pick.
The Patriots’ struggles weren’t completely his fault. Having Joe Judge and Matt Patricia run the offense was a key part of that. But Jones’s performance and antics didn’t help his case much in Belichick’s eyes, Breer said.
“He feels like Mac made the problem worse,” Breer said. “I know there’s some other people in the building that feel the same way.”
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