Quarterback Mac Jones described his trade to the Jaguars as a “mutual parting of ways” from the Patriots during his introductory press conference Thursday.
Jones, a Jacksonville native, was traded to the Jaguars for a 2024 sixth-round pick. The deal was made over the weekend but officially announced Thursday. It was one of the first major decisions Patriots new de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo made since taking over for Bill Belichick.
“We kind of just decided the mutual parting of ways was the best decision for both of us,” Jones told reporters Thursday in Jacksonville. “For me, it was just about moving on and getting back home, and I couldn’t be more excited. And for them, it’s about moving forward and turning the page. So really, that’s what we decided, and I think it’s a great decision.”
Jones, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2021 during his rookie season, struggled over the last two seasons. He ended his Patriots career with an 18-24 starting record, 8,918 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a 66.1 completion percentage.
He was benched for Bailey Zappe over the final six games of the 2023 season before being traded. Still, he said he had “a lot of great learning experiences” with the Patriots.
“I learned from a great head coach, obviously one of the greatest of all time. I’ve been fortunate to work with some great head coaches and learned a lot,” Jones said.
“Played a lot of games, started a lot of games, and obviously things went the way they did and my goal is to kind of get the train back on the tracks. So I think I can do that here and the coaches here have talked to me about how I can do that and help the room and how I can learn from Trevor (Lawrence) and everybody here.”
Jones was selected 15th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft behind Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick that year. Lawrence is 20-30 as a starter with 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns, 39 interceptions and a 63.8 completion percentage in his NFL career.
The Jaguars also have veteran QB C.J. Beathard on their 90-man roster. Nathan Rourke, who served as the Jaguars’ No. 3 QB for most of last season, is now on the Patriots’ roster. The Patriots still have Zappe on their roster, and they signed Jacoby Brissett as a free agent this week. The team also holds the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, where they are likely to take a quarterback out of whoever is left between Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
Jones beat out Cam Newton for the Patriots’ starting job in 2021. Newton had replaced Tom Brady as the team’s starting quarterback in 2020. Now, the Patriots will have their four Week 1 starting quarterback, whether that’s Brissett or a rookie, in six seasons.