ESPN lays out the ‘most likely’ scenario for Mac Jones’s future with the Patriots
ESPN's Dan Graziano says Mac Jones is likely to remain with the Patriots for years to come.
Mac Jones appears to be the Patriots’ starting quarterback as the team heads into its first preseason game against the Houston Texans on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.
This season will be a critical one for the third-year quarterback.
He had a strong rookie season in 2021 that culminated in a playoff appearance and a Pro Bowl selection. Then he followed that up with an atrocious 2022 season in an offense let by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia.
Jones’s contract is set to expire in 2024, and the team has a fifth-year option on his deal for 2025.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicts that Jones can look forward to a “smoother and better organized” experience with Bill O’Brien this season. He said that the most likely long-term outcome for Jones is that he stays with the Patriots.
“Jones and O’Brien click, and Jones looks a lot more like his 2021 self than his 2022 self,” predicts Graziano. “And next May, the Patriots pick up Jones’ fifth-year option and maybe even extend his contract, cementing him as the starter in 2024 and beyond.”
Graziano also offers a long shot scenario that doesn’t bode well for the 2021 first-round pick.
“Jones struggles,” Graziano said of the potential long shot scenario. “Bailey Zappe replaces him and looks great, and the Pats enter the 2024 offseason with a full-blown quarterback controversy. And perhaps they join many teams on this list with a high draft pick to select a new one.”
Jones has consistently worked with the starters throughout training camp, and has looked to be the better option so far.
However, circumstances outside of Jones’s control can happen.
Zappe got playing time last season because Jones and Brian Hoyer both got injured. Zappe played well and won both of his starts before getting pummeled by the worst team in football, the Chicago Bears, in his final meaningful playing time of the year.
But, barring injury or a disastrous start, the job appears to be Jones’s for now. If he can show sizable improvement under the new offensive coordinator O’Brien this season, it will be the first step towards regaining the trust he’s talked about during training camp and securing his future in New England.
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