The New England Patriots ended up benching Mac Jones in favor of Bailey Zappe this past year, which had most believing that the Patriots would ultimately part ways with the quarterback this offseason.
But apparently, New England has not yet decided what it is going to do with Jones.
New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt spoke about Jones this week, saying that the team has not ruled out Jones taking his starting job back in 2024.
“Really right now, everything is on the table,” Van Pelt said, via the Patriots’ official YouTube account. “We’re just still working through that process. I’m sure it’ll be a collaborative effort, and we’ll make the right decisions when the time comes.”
Of course, Van Pelt could just be using coach speak here. It’s entirely possible that the Pats do plan on moving on from Jones, but they don’t want to play their hand just yet.
After all, if the Patriots plan on trading Jones, they would pretty much torpedo his value if they come out and say that he has no chance of starting next season. Plus, based on his last couple of seasons, it’s not like Jones has a ton of trade value to begin with, so New England could just be trying to preserve whatever cachet he has left.
Van Pelt added that he has already had a conversation with Mac Jones and that there are “definitely some pieces of the puzzle not put in place yet.”
Like, maybe, a new quarterback?
The Patriots own the third overall pick in the NFL Draft this spring, meaning they probably won’t have a chance of taking USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye unless they trade up.
We’ll see what New England may have up its sleeve in the post-Bill Belichick era.
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