Once Baker Mayfield wraps up the rest of the season with the Los Angeles Rams, he'll shift his focus on finding a job for the 2023 campaign and beyond.
Could the quarterback's next NFL home be in New England?
It's a hypothetical that Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer isn't willing to rule out. The 2022 season hasn't been kind to Mac Jones, who took a significant step back after a promising rookie campaign. And as Breer pointed out on a recent episode of NBC Sports Boston's "Early Edition," head coach Bill Belichick hasn't committed to Jones as the Patriots' starting quarterback of the future.
Mayfield isn't a world-beater by any stretch, but Breer sees a potential multi-faceted benefit to New England signing the 2018 No. 1 overall pick in the offseason.
"The way I look at this, there's two benefits to bringing in competition," Breer said, as transcribed by NBCSB. "Especially if it's somebody young like Baker Mayfield. Number one, you may find an answer on Mac quicker, on who he's going to be as a professional and as a player. Number two, this gives you kind of two swings at it. If the goal is to find your quarterback for the next decade, having both Baker Mayfield and Mac Jones in the building, if the talent is comparable, gives you two swings at getting that answer right."
Another factor that might appeal to the Patriots is the likely low cost it would take to add Mayfield. The same can't be said for someone like Derek Carr, whose days in Las Vegas probably are numbered.
Foxboro could be an attractive destination for Mayfield, too. Belichick's mentorship would be of great benefit to the 27-year-old, who probably would have a legitimate opportunity to compete for the starting job considering how Jones fared this season.
