Much has been made this offseason about the future of Mac Jones following back-to-back tumultuous seasons for the New England Patriots quarterback.
Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon revealed during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz” program that it doesn’t matter to him if Jones, Week 1 backup Bailey Zappe or someone else is the club’s QB1 next season so long as the team doesn’t once again finish with a 4-13 record.
“Honestly, I don’t care,” Judon directly said about the situation, as shared by Nick O’Malley of MassLive. “I mean, it sounds terrible. I just want our offense to score points. Our offense to score points, sustain drives. Regardless if that’s Mac, Zappe, somebody else, I don’t care. I don’t care.”
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick pulled Jones from games on four occasions this past fall before Zappe became New England’s full-time starter for the final six contests of a campaign that seemingly couldn’t end soon enough for all involved. Logic suggests the Patriots will try to get something in return for Jones’ services either ahead of the draft or before training camp sessions get underway, but Zappe may receive an opportunity to compete for the starting job this summer.
In a mock draft published this past Monday, ESPN’s Matt Miller predicted that the Patriots will use overall pick No. 3 of this year’s player-selection process to acquire LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels. On Wednesday, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports also linked New England with Daniels.
“I think both Mac and Zappe have the talent to do it,” Judon continued during the segment. “They just have to do it. That’s going to be up to them. So like I said, the offseason is to get better and to come back a different player. They both can do it and they both have the skill set to do it. They just have to do.”
Judon’s frustration is understandable. According to ESPN stats, the Patriots ended this past regular season ranked 30th in the NFL with an average of 276.2 offensive yards per game and tied for last with an average of 13.9 points scored per contest. Perhaps getting Jones out of the quarterback room could be the first step toward New England improving upon such woeful numbers.
