The Jaguars didn't pick up Jones' fifth-year contract option, AL.com reports. While Jacksonville picked up the fifth-year options of starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and top running back Travis Etienne, the team elected not to do so with Jones, who the Patriots took 15th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The decision wasn't surprising, given that the value of the Alabama product's option was $25.6 million, the same figure that applied to Lawrence. With the Jaguars, Michael DiRocco of ESPN notes that Jones -- who was obtained from New England in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick -- is slated to compete with C.J. Beathard to be the team's top backup signal-caller in 2024, and potentially beyond. During his three-year stint with the Patriots, Jones drew 42 starts, but the 25-year-old's 2023 campaign wound up with him being benched after Week 12 in favor of Bailey Zappe.
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Passing
| Year | Team | GP | ATT | CMP | CMP% | YDS | AVG | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NE | 11 | 345 | 224 | 65% | 2,120 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| 2022 | NE | 14 | 442 | 288 | 65% | 2,997 | 7 | 14 | 11 |
| 2021 | NE | 17 | 521 | 352 | 68% | 3,801 | 7 | 22 | 13 |
Rushing
2023 Regular Season Stats
|
Regular Season
|
passing
|
rushing
|
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Date
|
Opp
|
Result
|
ATT
|
CMP
|
CMP%
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
INT
|
CAR
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LNG
|
FD
|
|
11/26
|
L
7-10
|
21
|
12
|
57.1
|
89
|
4.2
|
0
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
11/12
|
L
6-10
|
20
|
15
|
75
|
170
|
8.5
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
25
|
8.3
|
0
|
15
|
0
|
|
|
11/5
|
L
17-20
|
44
|
24
|
54.5
|
220
|
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
|
|
10/29
|
L
17-31
|
29
|
19
|
65.5
|
161
|
5.6
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
-2
|
-2
|
0
|
-2
|
0
|
|
|
10/22
|
W
29-25
|
30
|
25
|
83.3
|
272
|
9.1
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
11
|
3.7
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
|
Career History
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The Jaguars didn't pick up Jones' fifth-year contract option, AL.com reports. While Jacksonville picked up the fifth-year options of starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and top running back Travis Etienne, the team elected not to do so with Jones, who the Patriots took 15th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The decision wasn't surprising, given that the value of the Alabama product's option was $25.6 million, the same figure that applied to Lawrence. With the Jaguars, Michael DiRocco of ESPN notes that Jones -- who was obtained from New England in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick -- is slated to compete with C.J. Beathard to be the team's top backup signal-caller in 2024, and potentially beyond. During his three-year stint with the Patriots, Jones drew 42 starts, but the 25-year-old's 2023 campaign wound up with him being benched after Week 12 in favor of Bailey Zappe.
The Jaguars will finalize a trade Sunday to acquire Jones from the Patriots in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The deal won't become official until the new league year begins Wednesday, but assuming Jones is able to pass a physical, the Jacksonville native will join his hometown team heading into his fourth NFL season. Though he served as a 42-game starter over his three seasons in New England, Jones slid to third on the depth chart by the end of the 2023 campaign and finished his tenure with the Patriots with a 66.1 percent completion rate for 6.8 yards per attempt and a 46:36 TD:INT. He'll give the Jaguars an experienced backup option behind Trevor Lawrence, who has thus far proven durable in his young career with just one missed game over three seasons. Expect the Jaguars to decline Jones' pricey fifth-year option on his rookie contract this spring, which will make the 25-year-old signal-caller eligible for free agency following the 2024 season.
New England is open to trading Jones and has engaged with discussions in teams around the league, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The Patriots have been consistently rumored to be open to revamping the quarterback room this offseason, and Mark Daniels of The Providence Journal reports that the team has no intention of picking up Jones' fifth-year option. Jones, a 2021 first-round pick, finished his third NFL season as a healthy scratch after being replaced by Bailey Zappe as New England's starter Week 13, ending the year with a mediocre 2,120 passing yards and 10:12 TD:INT. It's unclear whether Jones will have a significant trade market at this point, but there are enough questions marks at quarterback elsewhere in the league that some teams may be willing to take a chance on the young signal-caller, even if they may not be willing to part with substantial draft capital.
Leading up to the contest, the Patriots didn't publicly name a starting QB, but Jones ended up getting the nod and playing the entire first half. In the process, the 2021 first-rounder completed 12 of 21 passing attempts for 89 yards and two interceptions. With the signal-caller pivot Sunday, it remains to be seen who helms the team's offense in Week 13, but if Zappe looks sharp versus the Giants it could earn him another look against the Chargers next weekend.
Though Jones was sent in for X-rays after he didn't take the field for the Patriots' final possession of the Nov. 12 loss to the Colts in Germany, the injury was never viewed as the primary cause of his absence. Instead, the Patriots' decision to go with Bailey Zappe -- who ended up throwing game-sealing interception -- late in the fourth quarter seemed to be a result of Jones being benched for performance-related reasons. While the Patriots were on bye this past week, head coach Bill Belichick was non-committal on the team's plans at quarterback moving forward, and the team has yet to name a starter for Sunday's game against the Giants as Week 12 prep gets underway. Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Jones appeared to be the first quarterback taking reps during Tuesday's unofficial practice session, though Zappe saw a significant share of the snaps behind him. Will Grier also lingers on the roster as a third option at quarterback, and at this stage, it's conceivable that any of the three could draw the Week 12 start as the 2-8 Patriots look to put an end to a three-game losing streak.
The nature of the injury isn't known, but perhaps of more import is the fact Jones was benched in favor of backup quarterback Bailey Zappe for the Patriots' final possession of the game. The reason likely was a back-breaking interception from Jones in the red zone with 4:24 remaining in the contest, and he finished with a paltry 170 yards and no touchdowns on 15-for-20 passing. Considering the overall situation, it'll be something to monitor to see if Jones or Zappe will be directing New England's offense after the team's Week 11 bye on Sunday, Nov. 26 at the Giants.
Jones had Tyquan Thornton open but missed him on fourth down to end New England's opening drive in Washington territory. After failing to produce any points in the first quarter, Jones bounced back with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the second to put the Patriots on the board. Outside of that throw, Jones was largely inaccurate and inefficient, as he tied his season low with just 5.0 yards per attempt. Despite those struggles, Jones had New England in range for a game-tying field goal at Washington's 41-yard line but was picked off with 30 seconds left to end it. After this putrid performance, calls for Bailey Zappe to replace Jones under center could renew as the 2-7 Patriots prepare to face the Colts in Frankfurt in Week 10.
Jones struggled to generate much production downfield, leading to a modest 5.6 yards per attempt for the third-year pro. Jones was able to produce his second straight two-touchdown performance and third multi-score tally of the season by hitting Kendrick Bourne (knee) and JuJu Smith-Schuster for touchdown passes of 24 and three yards, respectively. However, he also failed to reach the 200-yard mark for the third time this season, certainly not a recipe for success when facing the Dolphins' high-octane air attack. Jones and the Patriots next welcome in the Commanders for a Week 9 interconference battle.