The New England Patriots are tied for the second-worst record in the NFL, with a 2-8 mark through the first ten games. There are serious questions about the team’s future, both immediate and long term, and the quarterback that they drafted 10th overall three years ago has been benched mid-game three times already in 2023. And according to reports out of Boston, Mac Jones has apparently lost the faith of the rest of the players in the locker room.
Report: Patriots Players Are Out On Mac Jones
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: #Patriots QB Mac Jones has lost the support of the locker room and most of the players are “done” with him, per @_AndrewCallahan
“One team source said the locker room is 80-20 out on Mac. Another said the vast majority of players are done with him.” pic.twitter.com/n0ihk0Zy06
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) November 15, 2023
The first two years of Jones’ career looked promising enough to at least keep him around and continue his development. He qualified for the Pro Bowl as a rookie, throwing 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and leading the Patriots to the playoffs in the first post-Tom Brady season. But both his statistics and winning percentage dipped in 2022, and things have gotten even worse during the first half of 2023.
Jones has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1:1, finishing the first ten weeks with ten of each. His ten picks are tied for the second most in the league with Jordan Love and just one behind Josh Allen, and he throws for fewer yards per game than Zach Wilson. He has been benched three times at various points throughout the season, most recently for the final, potentially game-winning drive during the game in Frankfurt last weekend.
New England Should Look Towards The 2024 Draft
Mac Jones with a horrible, crippling interception. pic.twitter.com/jB4ZNcLEYg
— Savage (@SavageSports_) November 12, 2023
It remains unclear whether the Patriots will turn to Bailey Zappe for the rest of the season or continue to ride with a shaky Mac Jones. But while he may not yet have lost his job, there are rumors that he has lost the locker room.
According to Boston Herald reporter Andrew Callahan via a team source, about 80% of the players on New England’s roster are “out” on Jones. A different source said that a “vast majority” of the players are done with him.
It is obviously too late to make any kind of trade to improve the position, and it is likely that the Patriots will punt on the current season and look towards the 2024 NFL Draft for help.
They’ll take their bye week to try and evaluate the situation, but we may have seen the last of Mac Jones as the starting quarterback for the Patriots. Their next game will be played against the New York Giants on November 26th.
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