The New England Patriots are fielding trade talks for quarterback Mac Jones, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL media.

This does not come as a surprise and was essentially expected.

Jones is coming off of a miserable 2023 campaign in which he threw for 2,120 yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 64.9 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 77 in 11 starts before being benched in favor of Bailey Zappe.

The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama, was selected by the Patriots with the 15th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Jones actually got off to a solid start in Foxborough, totaling 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 picks while completing 67.6 percent of his throws and registering a passer rating of 92.5 in his rookie season. He even landed a Pro Bowl appearance for his efforts.

However, the following year, Jones regressed considerably, finishing with 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 picks in 14 starts. He completed 65.2 percent of his passes and recorded an 84.8 passer rating.

Jones continued his downward spiral this past season and now looks basically unsalvageable in New England.

Does this mean that Jones cannot resurrect his career elsewhere? Not necessarily. After all, this is the same quarterback who took the Pats to the playoffs in his debut campaign.

Still, one would have to imagine that Jones has very minimal trade value at this point, so the Patriots will probably be lucky to get anything even mildly significant in a return package.

New England owns the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft and will likely be taking a signal-caller, which almost certainly spells the end of Mac Jones’ tumultuous three-year tenure with the club.

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