After yet another chapter of disappointment and dysfunction, it looks Mac Jones’ time with the New England Patriots is coming to an end.
Which in the opinion of former Patriots protection and captain Devin McCourty, a trade of scenery is precisely what the former first-round pick out of Alabama needs.
“I assume you have to see what (Alex) Van Pelt thinks,” McCourty said in a current interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger and Mazz Show about Jones. “Me personally, from understanding Mac, I would love to see him get an chance somewhere else.
I suppose as players, we’re constantly like, we’re going to stay focused on what we have to do. We’re going to lock in, however when each and every time you go out there on the area and you’re getting booed, like when that has to be your existence day in and day out … that’s simply tough to deal with.”
The fans weren’t the solely ones who may additionally have soured on the once-promising quarterback. As a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer pointed out, even his own teammates had started out to flip on Jones.
Breer described the Patriots’ quarterback room as “toxic.” This toxicity had long past so a ways that Jones’s eventual replacement, Bailey Zappe, started gazing movie with the team’s receivers instead of with his fellow signal-callers. Following a very promising rookie season, the place Jones made the Pro Bowl. That proved to be his peak, as he threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, as he led the Patriots to a 10-7 document and playoff appearance.
From there, it was all downhill. Longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left the Patriots for his second attempt as a head coach, this time with the Las Vegas Raiders beforehand of the 2022 season, leaving Jones besides a real play-caller. Instead, Bill Belichick became to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to run his offense, notwithstanding neither having experience coordinating on that aspect of the ball.
But coaching wasn’t the only problem, so too was once the intelligence round Jones. The Patriots failed to beef up a deteriorating offensive line, along with by no means including actual difference-makers on the outdoor at receiver. While the emergence of Jakobi Meyers, Jones’s favourite target, papered over the cracks for the most section in the first two seasons, his departure in 2023 proved problematicThe Patriots’ prized signing of JuJu Smith-Schuster used to be a flat-out bust this past season, as the 27-year-old regarded like a shell of his former explosive self. Meanwhile, an injury-riddled and disregarded offensive line persisted to crumble. All of this genuinely canceled out the perceived fantastic of the return of Bill O’Brien as the offensive coordinator.
O’Brien was supposed to be the savior of Jones and the Patriots offense. However, that even proved to be too plenty for him, as Jones persevered the worst season of his career, throwing for 2,120 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Jones was benched four instances ultimate season earlier than the everlasting exchange at quarterback was once made, as Zappe became the starter for the closing six gamesHowever, at some stage in it all, McCourty apparently nevertheless holds out hope that Jones can subsequently proper the ship… simply now not in New England.
“Right now absolutely everyone appears at Mac Jones like, ‘Get him out of the league. He’s terrible,’” McCourty said. “I suppose if he receives a sparkling begin we’ll nonetheless be talking about this man somewhere in the league five, six years from now.”
Where that might also be is nonetheless unknown. But it looks alternatively sure that after three years in New England, Jones’ next snap in a everyday season game will see him in a special uniform.