NFL Insider Evaluates Likelihood Of Patriots-Raiders Mac Jones Trade

If the Raiders called the Patriots to inquire about Mac Jones, Albert Breer doesn’t think New England would immediately hang up the phone.

The Patriots don’t appear to be shopping Mac Jones, who endured a rough Year 2 in Foxboro, Mass. But Las Vegas needs a new starting quarterback, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently floated the idea of Jones reuniting with his former offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels.

Breer, as he explained Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hubs “Zolak and Bertrand,” isn’t sure how interested the Raiders are in Jones and he doubts Las Vegas would be willing to give up a first-rounder for the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft. But at the very minimum, the Sports Illustrated scribe believes Bill Belichick and company would be willing to talk shop with Las Vegas.

“I think they would,” Breer said, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “Internally, I don’t know if they see this massive gap between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. I’m not saying they think Bailey’s as good as Mac, but there was some element of Bailey doing what he was coached to do last year that I think gave Bailey the edge to some degree for a little while there.

“So I think it’ll be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer came along. I don’t think a real offer is going to come along, but it’d be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer did come along.”

We probably shouldn’t count on Jones relocating to Las Vegas this offseason. However, Breer’s note on Zappe suggests there will be a legitimate starting quarterback battle in New England this summer.