5 teams that make sense for a possible Mac Jones trade
If Jones is out of New England, he could be a solid backup quarterback option for a few teams.
The end of Mac Jones’s time in New England seems all but official.
The Patriots are “open” to trading the quarterback, who has interest on the market, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday.
It’s been reported since the end of the season that Jones’s situation with the team was trending toward the team cutting ties with the quarterback. Jones’s disappointing play was a major reason why the Patriots finished with one of the league’s worst offenses and records. He threw for 2,120 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, getting benched in four games before Bailey Zappe replaced him for good in Week 13.
In addition to receiving any possible trade capital in return for Jones, moving the quarterback via trade is more beneficial from a salary standpoint for the Patriots than cutting him. If the Patriots released him, his entire $4.95 cap hit for the 2024 season would turn into dead money, saving them zero money against the cap. If they traded him, the Patriots would open up just a little more than $2.7 million in cap space.
Jones doesn’t seem to command a high return on the trade market. A few executives reportedly told The Boston Herald that they think Jones would fetch a fifth-round pick in return, while another viewed they’d be lucky to get a sixth-round pick.
Either way, it seems like there is some interest for Jones. So, here are five possible suitors for the quarterback as the Patriots try to find their quarterback of the future this offseason.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are the most obvious team that comes to mind when thinking of potential landing spots for the Patriots quarterback.
San Francisco contemplated drafting Jones with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, with Kyle Shanahan confirming in 2022 that the Alabama product was the other player they thought about selecting before landing on Trey Lance.
“We did the trade so early that it made me feel good about it,” Shanahan told the “I Am Athlete” podcast about the 49ers’ trade to move up to the No. 3 pick in 2021. I knew before we did it how I felt about the quarterbacks and how good we would be to take them at 12. There were two that I really wanted… Mac Jones and Trey [Lance]. Those were the two guys that we were locked in on from the beginning.”
It was speculated at the time that Jones could be a fit for Shanahan’s offense due to his accuracy and ability to throw with anticipation coming out of college. While Jones regressed in those areas this past season, he showed some promise as a rookie that could still make himself an enticing backup option for Shanahan.
The 49ers also need to address their backup quarterback spot this offseason. Sam Darnold is set to hit free agency after a year in the Bay Area. With Jones still on his rookie contract, he could be a cheaper salary option between the two.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos weren’t linked to Jones in the leadup to the 2021 NFL Draft, but the team their current head coach used to work for was.
Sean Payton said ahead of the Saints’ matchup against the Patriots in 2021 that the team was “really high” on Jones ahead of the draft that year.
“I think he processes information fast,” Payton told reporters at the time. “At Alabama, if you watch closely his tape, the ball comes out, decisions are made fast. I think he sees the field horizontally as well as vertically well. He has the arm to make the throws that you want. His decision-making and processing are where I felt were really strong suits with him, and I think he’s handling it well.
“It’s not easy to all of a sudden come in and start Week 1 as a rookie, but he’s a smart player.”
Payton praised Jones even further in a conversation with Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer a few days later, reportedly saying that “not Mac Jones” when asked which first-round quarterback from the draft was the least likely to bust.
“I loved him coming out,” Payton added. “But as I saw him on film this week he makes really fast decisions, he’s hard for us to sack as a young quarterback, but it’s also gonna be hard for us to bait him into rookie mistakes.”
The Saints didn’t have the opportunity to select Jones in 2021 as they held the 28th pick, which was 13 picks after the Patriots selected Jones. But Payton will get a better shot at landing Jones this offseason.
The Broncos also need a quarterback as they’re set to release Russell Wilson when the new league year begins. Former Patriot Jarrett Stidham is the only other quarterback on their roster.
Los Angeles Rams
The 49ers aren’t the only NFC West contender who’ll likely be seeking a backup quarterback this offseason.
The Rams also need to address their backup spot. Stetson Bennett, who’s the only other quarterback on Los Angeles’ roster outside of Matthew Stafford, was away from the team for almost the entirety of the 2023 season. With Stafford turning 36 in February and missing multiple games in each of the last two seasons, there’s an even greater onus on the Rams to find a backup.
Jones could be a reasonable fit. Sean McVay’s offense used to rely on play-action passes, which helped Jared Goff statically become one of the game’s best passers for a few seasons. The Rams haven’t run as much play-action since Stafford arrived in Los Angeles in 2021, according to The Ringer’s Ben Solak, but it isn’t unreasonable to think that McVay could dial up more play-action plays if Jones had to replace Stafford on an emergency basis.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons added a pair of McVay disciples to be their head coach and offensive coordinator this offseason. They also need to resolve their quarterback situation, too.
Atlanta seems to be making a heavy push to sign Kirk Cousins when free agency opens on Wednesday, reportedly prioritizing the Vikings quarterback above all other options. But they might need a backup as well. The Desmond Ridder experiment didn’t work out the way Arthur Smith had hoped, which was part of the reason why he ended up getting fired as head coach.
Obviously, we don’t know for sure what kind of offense new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will run. But if it’s similar to McVay’s, Jones could also be a stylistic fit in Atlanta.
Jones was also heavily compared to Cousins coming out of college, with draft evaluators drawing similarities to both quarterbacks’ strong ability to be accurate from the pocket and throw well in the intermediate areas. That was a speculated reason why Shanahan liked Jones as a prospect as he had a similar affinity for Cousins.
If the Falcons sign Cousins, having a quarterback of a similar mold would seem to make sense, especially as the veteran is coming off an Achilles tear.
Miami Dolphins
While Tua Tagovailoa isn’t going anywhere in 2024, the Dolphins might need to address the depth of their quarterback room in some capacity this offseason. Tagovailoa didn’t miss a game in 2023, but he’s just two years removed from suffering at least two confirmed concussions in 2022 while some believe he might have suffered a third.
Unlike some of the other teams, Miami has a pair of notable backups under contract for 2024, but neither Mike White nor Skylar Thompson have the potential upside that Jones has. Jones’s connection to Tagovailoa from their days together at Alabama doesn’t hurt, either.
It should be noted that Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers in 2021 when the team heavily considered selecting Jones. So, it isn’t unreasonable to think that McDaniel could view Jones as a possible fit for his offense, which is heavily based on motion, timing, anticipation, and rhythm.
Of course, the big question would be whether the Patriots want to trade their old starting quarterback to a division rival. The former man in charge didn’t have a problem doing that, shipping Drew Bledsoe to the Bills in 2002. We might see how the new front office might view such an idea this offseason.
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