Could the Patriots trade Mac Jones to the Raiders?

Because the Patriots’ 2022 season was so uncharacteristically bad, there continue to be several discussions regarding the futures of coaches and players due to their poor performances last year. But one player, in particular, has been dominating that conversation in recent weeks; Mac Jones, who struggled throughout the entirety of the season after completing an impressive rookie campaign.

Finding it difficult to overcome the frustration of dealing with incompetent coaches put in positions they were not qualified for; Jones often found himself in controversy for displaying his unhappiness on the field. Other than bothering several media members, it has been alleged that his behavior also did not sit well with Bill Belichick.

New England players are known to be tight-lipped and keep all issues behind closed doors. It’s rare to see any member of the team expressing anger or frustration within a game, especially with the risk of being caught on camera so high. But the dysfunction that was the Patriots’ season was too much to bare for Jones and even some other offensive players, and the overwhelming exasperation trickled out over the weeks.

It seems likely this could have played a part in Belichick’s lack of commitment to Jones as the starting quarterback for the future at the end of the year. His vague response of “Mac has the ability to play quarterback in this league” all but confirms a possible scenario where the quarterback could be on the trade block this offseason.

But would Belichick really do that with a quarterback still on a rookie contract?

According to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, it wouldn’t be a surprising move.

During an appearance on  98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” this week, Breer explained why the trade could happen, listing Bailey Zappe’s success as a potential reason Belichick could make the move.

"“I think they would. 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.”"

This is just pure speculation at this point, considering there were a lot of factors that contributed to the failures of last season, and not all blame can be placed on one thing or person.

But could there be substance to this rumor? Could the pressure from Robert Kraft to get the team back on track cause Belichick to move on from Jones so quickly? Time will tell, but giving Jones another season to prove himself seems the most plausible.