New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones lost his starting job with the team earlier this year, with Bailey Zappe taking over as the team’s starter. But that doesn’t mean that Jones has entirely lost all confidence from the Patriots coaching staff.
Jones has shown in the past that he can be successful if he is put in the right situation. His rookie season he ended up making the Pro Bowl while leading the Patriots to a playoff birth with a 10-7 record.
Unfortunately, Jones wasn’t able to have even a sliver of that success in 2023, struggling both on an individual level and showing an inability to help his team win games.
There are obviously a number of different factors that go into this. The skill positions around Jones certainly leave a lot to be desired as a whole.
Patriots offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien spoke about his former starting quarterback on Tuesday, expressing that he believes Jones will “be fine” moving forward in the NFL.
“I feel good about Mac Jones. I really do,” O’Brien said via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I think Mac Jones is a smart guy. He’s a very hard worker. He’s really done a good job in this situation here of being a good teammate. Look, these are things that happen in the course of a lot of careers. You have some ups and downs. He’s approached it the right way. I believe in Mac. I think Mac is going to be just fine.”
It’s obviously great that O’Brien still believes in Jones as an NFL quarterback. But there are still some very clear questions worth asking regarding the future of Jones’ career.
The third-year quarterback has one-year remaining on his contract in New England on top of his fifth-year option in 2025. It seems unlikely that he will become the team’s starter again this year, as Bailey Zappe has played admirably and led the team to a 2-2 record in his recent starts.
The Patriots could also be in a prime position this coming offseason to select a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, which would all but end Jones’ time officially as the starting option in New England.
The real question that will need to be answered is do other teams around the NFL view Jones as a player who can be a starter for their teams?
There will surely be teams around the league that are looking for a new quarterback this offseason. Could they end up trading for a player like Jones to get a fresh start to his career?
These questions will obviously be answered naturally with time. But it is at least promising that he is at least respected by the coaching staff in New England.
