To say it's been an interesting offseason between Mac Jones and the New England Patriots would probably be an understatement.
Things got off to a rocky start in late March when Bill Belichick suggested that Jones wouldn't necessarily be the team's starting QB in 2023 and that he might have to compete with Bailey Zappe for the job. In early April, things got completely crazy when Pro Football Talk reported that Belichick was shopping Jones around for a possible trade. Despite that speculation, one person who doesn't see a trade happening is Rob Gronkowski.
The former Patriots tight end, who spent nine seasons in New England, understands the inner workings of the team more than most, and based on what Gronk has to say, there's almost no way the Patriots would consider trading Jones this year.
"I think that was fake news," Gronk said on "Up and Adams" when asked about the trade speculation. "There was just too much turnover this year. I mean [Belichick] already got a new offensive coordinator that he brought into place, just the whole offensive staff was basically turned over this year, and then if you're shipping your quarterback, that's just too much turnover to have in the NFL in one season and to be able to compete the following year."
If you think about what the Patriots have done this offseason, it wouldn't make much sense to trade Jones. For one, New England replaced the coach that Jones wasn't getting along with (Matt Patricia). At one point last season, Jones sought advice from outside the organization because he was so frustrated with Patricia. Apparently, Belichick wasn't happy with that decision from Jones, but it seems he at least understood it, because in the end, the Patriots coach made a switch.
The team brought in an offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien who has a positive history with Jones. Those two moves would suggest that the Patriots are trying to set Jones up for success this year and not replace him.
Also, if the Patriots were going to trade Jones in the next few weeks, they wouldn't have a lot of options at starting quarterback. At this point, they would basically have three options: Turn to Zappe, draft a starter or try to sign Lamar Jackson. If you go with Zappe or a rookie, you're dealing with an unproven commodity and you'd almost be starting over from scratch. As for Jackson, who apparently wants to play for the Patriots, he could work, but it would cost New England a lot of money and at least two first-round picks to pry him away from Baltimore unless a sign-and-trade is worked out.
Based on all of that, Jones really seems like the best option for the Patriots this year.
Although all the evidence would seem to suggest that Jones will be safe this year, that doesn't mean he'll be safe after that. As Gronk points out, if Jones struggles in 2023, then Belichick might finally be open to trading his starting quarterback, but not until next offseason.
"In the future, if Mac Jones doesn't put it together this year with Billy O'Brien and all that, I can see that being a possibility after this season," Gronkowski said. "But I don't think that was true over this offseason, so far, and I just gotta stamp that as fake news."
There you have it: The Gronk has spoken and the Gronk says that Jones will not be traded this offseason, but he could be traded in 2024 if he struggles this year.
