Getty Patriots trade rumor Mac Jones to Seattle? The Seahawks are supposedly interested.
There is a case to be made for the Patriots keeping erstwhile quarterback Mac Jones around on the roster while it figures out how the future of the position will look. New coach, new vibe, hopefully new players—maybe Jones could make another go of things in New England, or at least be a useful backup. But that’s a longshot. Chances are a Patriots trade of Jones is just around the corner.
What could they get? And from whom? Well, that gets interesting. Analyst and host Mitch Milani of the “Bottom Line View” podcast on Bleacher Report has been reading the tea leaves and compared the Jones market to that of Bears quarterback Justin Fields, coming away with the projection of Jones being dealt to the Seahawks for a fifth-round pick.
“The market for Mac Jones actually is kind of interesting. Because it feels like Mac Jones market is getting similar interest to Justin Fields. … Feels like Mac Jones is getting a fifth-round pick. The team I’m hearing the most is the Seattle Seahawks are pretty heavily tied to Mac Jones,” Milani said last week on his show.
Patriots Trade for 5th-Rounder Makes Sense
After three seasons in which he has regressed badly and shown some poor leadership skills in the process, a fifth-rounder for Jones sounds fair. The Cowboys gave a fourth-rounder for Trey Lance last summer, and Lance was the No. 3 pick in 2021, when Jones was the No. 15 pick.
It could be argued that Jones has proven more than Lance, who has played in only eight career games with four starts, but Lance’s reputation is boosted by still being an unknown commodity. Jones’ value is dinged because we probably know too much about him. So, if Lance drew a fourth-rounder, a fifth-rounder for Jones is fair.
The Seahawks have Geno Smith on hand at quarterback, but he is likely in his last season. Seattle parted ways with coach Pete Carroll and added Mike Macdonald and an entirely new group of coaches in his place. They could well be looking for a new look behind center.
“This is an entirely new staff. They don’t have any ties to Geno Smith,” Milani said. “They might be looking for a cost-effective backup and a cost-effective option moving into the future. Mac Jones could be pretty interesting from that standpoint—give him some weapons, give him a new, fresh feel in a new location and allow him to have a little bit of a chip on his shoulder now.”
Any Chance of a Mac Jones Return?
But again, it is not certain that Jones will be moved by the Patriots. He is still on his rookie contract, and if you rewind to his rookie season, he obviously has talent. The only problem is that Jones may well have rubbed enough people in the Patriots organization the wrong way to make it impossible for him to come back.
No matter how much sense it makes. NBC Sports Boston insider Tom Curran discussed that with NFL Media’s Rich Eisen last week, and said:
“The leadership aspect was difficult for most people in the organization to swallow, despite the bad situation that most people agree he was put in, coach-wise, I think his acting out, really soured—not completely—but really soured the organization on whether or not they can see him as a leader all the time. And I think it might be best if they move on from each other, from both sides.
“But, in a vacuum, if you look at it, you say, he’s a kid on the fourth year of his rookie contract, it’s manageable. We’ve seen him have good games in the NFL, why would we move on from him?”