Patriots fans remain divided over Mac Jones
When the Lamar Jackson rumors began to swirl last week, Patriots fans on social media were divided in their takes. The same happened when it was reported on Tuesday that Bill Belichick has been shopping Mac Jones this offseason.
It appears that one part of the fanbase believes Mac Jones hasn’t been given a fair shake. He showed promise in his rookie season and had to deal with an abysmal coaching situation in 2022 as well as a glaring lack of weapons and an injury that ultimately almost cost him his job. There are also those who believe they’ve seen everything they need to see and are ready to move on.
Hey guys! I’m a delusional Patriots fan because I believe Mac Jones deserves a chance after having a good rookie season and being screwed over last year ????????♀️????
— Sara Marshall (@smarshxo) April 5, 2023
Mac Jones reading these reports today probably isn’t sitting well with him. He’s got to feel frustrated, betrayed, let-down, stabbed in the back, etc. #Patriots
— Justin Ramos (@NEPinsider) April 4, 2023
Trade Mac and #14, maybe another pick for Lamar. Go sign Hopkins. Bring winning football back to New England. Cuz Mac is never gonna win a SB
— Muscle Westbrook (@EastyTheMuscle) April 4, 2023
Lamar would make the Patriots contenders for the Super Bowl in 2023/4.
Mac Jones and the Patriots might make the playoffs in 2023/4
— GreenRunsDeep (@CelticsGRD) March 28, 2023
The Patriots handling of Mac Jones is absolutely disgusting.
If they do trade him, Bill Belichick should be fired the moment he hangs up the phone.
He would have been fired back in 2005 if it wasn’t for having Tom Brady as his quarterback.
— Dave Robicheaux ???? (@DaveyRobicheaux) April 4, 2023
This inability for Pats supporters to get on the same page stems from Mac Jones’ inconsistent start to his career. At his best he’s been a borderline Pro Bowl quarterback who can lead you to Wild Card Weekend. At his worst, he’s been bad enough to nearly have his job taken by Bailey Zappe simply because Zappe displayed an ability to be a competent game manager.
All in all, it hasn’t been enough to make him more desirable than a guy who’s already proven himself to be an elite player in the league. Even Patriots legend Devin McCourty was candid in his opinion on the Jackson rumors:
“You have to make a call and see,” McCourty said. “If you hear Lamar Jackson is interested in playing on your team … he’s one of the rare quarterbacks that you say, ‘He’s a guy.’ When he gets out there, he can go change a franchise. So you’ve got to at least call and say, ‘Hey, Baltimore, what’s up? What are we talking about here? What is it going to take?'”
Not an encouraging statement from Mac Jones’ former teammate. It wasn’t a direct knock on Mac, but saying that “you have to make a call” to another quarterback doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the one you currently have.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending who you ask) it doesn’t appear that Lamar Jackson to New England is a likely scenario. It’s hard to say what the plan is right now with so many conflicting reports coming out, which tells us that the Patriots, the media, and the fans are all equally unsure about the current QB situation.