How Patriots Star Feels About Mac Jones After Awful Third Season

Matthew Judon hasn't totally lost faith in Patriots teammate Mac Jones.

It would be pretty easy at this juncture to give up on Jones, who received a series of in-game benchings and ultimately lost New England's starting quarterback job last season. But Judon had a front-row seat to a different version of Jones, who put together a Pro Bowl rookie season and helped lead the Patriots to a 2021 playoff berth.

So, Judon still views Jones as a capable NFL signal-caller. But the star pass-rusher knows it will be challenging for the Alabama product to bounce back in 2024.

"When Mac was comfortable, and he had a good system, he produced and he put up numbers," Judon said Wednesday on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football," as transcribed by the Boston Herald. "And when you said we scored 45-7 (versus Cleveland in 2021), Mac Jones led that team. We know he can do it. He has to find his confidence, his stride, and get a rhythm under him. And it's going to be difficult -- it's his fourth (offensive coordinator) in four years."

It remains to be seen if Jones already spent his last season in Foxboro, Mass. The Patriots are poised to take another swing at franchise quarterback with the third overall pick in next month's draft, and New England also is expected to tap into the veteran signal-caller market in free agency. If Jerod Mayo and company check both of those boxes, there wouldn't be a need for Jones at One Patriot Place.

All things considered, a Jones trade in the coming weeks or months probably is in the best interest of both parties.