Patriots: Tension between Mac Jones, Bill Belichick has led to trade talks
The New England Patriots seemingly found their quarterback of the future with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but things have since gone south between that player, Mac Jones, and head coach Bill Belichick. The tension is real, sources told A to Z Sports on Tuesday. And it goes both ways. NBC […]
The New England Patriots seemingly found their quarterback of the future with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but things have since gone south between that player, Mac Jones, and head coach Bill Belichick.
The tension is real, sources told A to Z Sports on Tuesday. And it goes both ways.
NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran first reported last week that Belichick was and continues to be upset that Jones sought advice from outside the organization about the Patriots’ offensive deficiencies last season.
“Going outside the counsel to, ‘is this the way we’re supposed to be doing this?’ That really pissed Bill off,” Curran said on WEEI’s Jones & Mego with Arcand program.
“That effort to improve was showing up the Matt Patricia-Joe Judge contingent and Bill putting them in charge,” Curran continued. "And when Bill caught wind of it, he’s still pissed about it.”
It sounds like that isn't the only issue between Jones and Belichick. Jones was described by one source as having some maturity issues. Another source said that "Mac's antics last season didn't go over all that well in the building." Jones was often seen appearing frustrated on the field last season.
"Plenty of blame to go around," a source said, however.
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms added context that Jones was calling members of Alabama’s coaching staff “in order to get some information as to how to properly run the offense under long-time defensive coach Matt Patricia.”
ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reported Tuesday that Belichick has “shopped Jones to multiple teams during the 2023 offseason.” One source said New England hasn't received an offer for the former Alabama QB that would be worth considering. Florio listed the Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders as potential destinations.
There was buzz last month that the Raiders might try to trade for Jones with former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels at head coach. They wound up signing former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo instead.
Making things more complicated, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft have a strong relationship with Jones that also goes both ways, according to sources.
Kraft strongly praised Jones at the NFL Annual Meeting last week, while Belichick wouldn’t decisively name Jones as the starter over backup Bailey Zappe.
Jones is in a make-or-break year with the Patriots after standing out as a rookie in 2021 and struggling under Patricia and Judge in 2022. Jones is expected to perform better with new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, but one source even expressed skepticism that the QB will be able to pull it together in the new offense this season.
New England must decide if they’re going to pick up Jones’ fifth-year option for the 2025 season after the 2023 season. That figure will be in excess of $23 million, while Jones' salary in 2023 is just over $2 million.
