Patriots Still Stuck In Quarterback No-Man’s Land With Mac Jones

Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins was a quintessential post-Tom Brady performance for the Patriots. It was an on-brand afternoon for their quarterback, too.

If you squint hard enough, you can see a world in which the 31-17 loss in Miami actually was a close game. After all, the Patriots scored first, forced two turnovers and trailed by just seven points with 8:30 left. Jones made some good throws, and kinda-sorta battled back despite getting sacked three times and losing DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne to injuries. The officials also didn’t do New England any favors.

But the reality is Patriots once again got completely outclassed by the Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa, now 6-0 against Bill Belichick, once again executed methodical touchdown drives whenever he needed to against New England’s overrated defense. And Jones, a week after delivering a signature, anomalous win over the Buffalo Bills, once again made a critical mistake and played a frantic, uneasy brand of football.

None of it was good enough, including Jones. And at 2-6, there aren’t any signs of a narrative-changing turnaround on the horizon. At this point, it would be a major surprise to see Jones under center for the season opener in 2024. The Patriots could, and should, make every effort toward upgrading at quarterback during the offseason, potentially by using a top draft pick.

However, in the here and now, New England still is in no-man’s land with the most important position in sports.

Belichick was uselessly noncommital when asked about Jones’ job status after the game. Maybe he’s considering making a switch to Bailey Zappe, or Will Grier, or Malik Cunningham, or whoever.

But probably not. Because as boring as it might be, the Patriots don’t have any better options than Jones, and there really wouldn’t be any point in trying someone else.

Belichick’s handling of Zappe in Week 6, and in the weeks leading up to it, tells you all you need to know about how he feels about the 2022 fourth-round pick. And Cunningham’s six-snap moonlighting as a “backup quarterback” resulted in his second trip on the release-to-practice-squad rollercoaster in two months. As for Will Grier, New England reportedly wants to see what it has in the 28-year-old journeyman, but to what end?

Turning to Zappe, Cunningham or Grier would be a total white-flag move from Belichick. He might as well pin a giant “We’re Tanking” sign to the top of that giant new lighthouse. We just can’t see him pulling that trigger.

By the way, Adam Schefter made similar points on Monday during a “Pat McAfee Show” appearance.

But what about signing another quarterback, you ask? What about trading for someone else?

Again, if Belichick’s goal is to save face and maintain some level of competitiveness, he’ll find no help in the free agency and trade markets.

Any quarterback the Patriots acquire would need time to learn the playbook. They probably wouldn’t start for a week or two, at the earliest. But, more importantly, most of the options aren’t any good.

The top free agent QBs are Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Colt McCoy, Joe Flacco and Nick Foles. The top trade targets are Case Keenum, Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, Andy Dalton and, like, Marcus Mariota, or something.

None of those players are coming in, learning the offense and giving the Patriots a better chance to win than with Jones. If you believe otherwise, then we have some precarious Cape Cod homes we’d like to sell you.

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With all that said, there are some scenarios that are interesting, even if they reside in a fantasy land.

If the Arizona Cardinals put Kyler Murray on the trade block, the Patriots at least should talk about it. And if Josh McDaniels believes he can fix Jones and makes a great offer, the Patriots also should think about it.

And then there’s the Minnesota Vikings. With Kirk Cousins suffering a season-ending Achilles tear, maybe they get desperate and offer New England a Day 2 draft pick for Jones. Again, the Patriots would be foolish not to consider it.

(By the way, Schefter doesn’t see that happening, either.)

Outside of a trade that nets the Patriots significant draft capital, a deal involving Jones doesn’t make any sense. And none of the other quarterbacks on their roster, or available around the NFL, would make them any better. Honestly, if what the Patriots really want is a top-five pick, they might still be able to land it with Jones keeping his job.

For better or worse, New England’s best and most likely course of action is riding it out with a quarterback who’s playing on borrowed time.