NFL Rumors: What Patriots Actually Wanted In Mac Jones Trade

There apparently was some settling at play for the Patriots in their recent decision on Mac Jones, albeit at a minor level.

New England on Sunday reportedly agreed to trade Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It all came together fairly quickly, as the Patriots reportedly chose the trade path during the NFL Scouting Combine and arranged the framework for the deal the day before the league's legal tampering period opened.

Jerod Mayo and company reportedly will receive a sixth-round pick from Jacksonville once the trade is finalized, but that wasn't the return New England was hoping for when it decided to ship out Jones.

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"The offer of the sixth-round pick, I believe the Patriots got that offer on Friday, and then they shopped it around on Saturday," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer said Monday on 98.5 The Sport Hub's "Zolak & Bertrand," as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. "They were looking for a fifth-round pick. I talked to a couple other teams that said they were offering Mac for a five, and they couldn't get a five for him."

There's a chance the Patriots accepted the Jaguars' offer because they felt like they had to. While NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported four teams were "in the mix" for Jones, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones claimed Jacksonville was the only club to actually present an offer for the 2021 first-rounder.

Regardless, New England probably isn't sweating the return package. After back-to-back miserable seasons, it was simply time for the Patriots and Jones to go their separate ways.