After three years in New England, Mac Jones’ time with the Patriots has finally come to an end.
The team is reportedly finalizing a deal that would send quarterback Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars in return for a sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft, according to ESPN.
The trade will not be completed until the new league year begins Wednesday and Jones passes a physical.
Jones is coming off another lackluster year which resulted in going 224 of 345 for 2,120 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. An early season injury paired with his struggling performance on the field led former head coach Bill Belichick to bench him after 11 games in favor of Bailey Zappe.
Jones began his three-year tenure with the team after being selected 15th overall in the 2021 draft. In his rookie season, he started all 17 regular-season games, leading the Patriots to 10-7 and clinching a wild-card round playoff berth. To cap it off, he was selected for the Pro Bowl that year as an alternate.
Since then, his production at quarterback took a dip as the franchise underwent multiple coaching changes at offensive coordinator over the next two years. He has 46 TD passes and 36 INTs in three NFL seasons.
Now, the Jacksonville native will head back to his hometown to compete with C.J. Beathard to be Trevor Lawrence’s primary backup.
After a 4-13 season, the Patriots earned the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, where they are likely to choose between LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye to step in at quarterback. They currently have Zappe and second-year player Nathan Rourke on their quarterback depth chart.
Additionally, the team already had single selections in each round of the 2024 draft, so a sixth-round pick gives them an additional pick in that round and eight overall selections. However, Jones will count $4.96 million against the team’s salary cap in the final year of his rookie contract.
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