How Mac Jones Addressed Potential Trade With Deadline Looming

Mac Jones claims he isn’t thinking about the possibility of being shipped out of New England on Tuesday.

The Patriots could end up looking a lot different when they take the Gillette Stadium field Sunday against the Washington Commanders. After a Week 8 road loss to the Miami Dolphins moved New England to the cellar of the AFC standings, it would make sense for Bill Belichick and company to go into sell mode before the deadline.

Josh Uche reportedly is the most likely candidate to be traded by the Patriots, while Kyle Dugger and Mike Onwenu also have generated some buzz. But what about Jones, who might not have a future in Foxboro, Mass. beyond this season?

The third-year quarterback on Monday was asked about his level of confidence in still being with the Patriots beyond the deadline.

“Not really focused on the outside sources, the noise and all that stuff,” Jones said on WEEI’s “Jones & Mego.” “My biggest thing is what can I do this week to become better? How can I improve some of the things I didn’t do well the week before? And then kind of be consistent with the things I did well.”

New England would be foolish not to listen to calls on Jones, but there’s a good chance no inquiries come through the wire. Even a quarterback-needy team like the Minnesota Vikings probably would be better off not turning to the Patriots for potential signal-caller help.

As such, we probably can count on Jones being under center for New England for the remainder of the campaign.