Patriots looking to trade Mac Jones, add next franchise QB in 2024 NFL Draft: report

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Like Bill Belichick, it appears the New England Patriots are also looking to move on from their quarterback, Mac Jones. 

The Patriots are ushering in a new era of football following Belichick’s departure, and with Jerod Mayo in as head coach, New England is expected to trade Jones this offseason with eyes set on their high draft pick, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

New England owns the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and this year’s class of prospects is quarterback heavy. Many believe several quarterbacks taken in the Draft will be franchise signal callers for years to come. 

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Mac Jones of the New England Patriots attempts a pass against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 26, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Considering Jones was benched multiple times in back-to-back seasons with Belichick on the sideline, his status as the team’s franchise quarterback was in limbo. He ended up being the team’s third string quarterback toward the end of the 2023 season, a year where he continued his regression. 

"Even though Bill Belichick is gone, Mac Jones – who lost the starting role and ended up third string by the end of the 2023 season – is a trade candidate in the coming weeks and most likely will end up elsewhere for the 2024 season," Rapoport wrote on Sunday. "… All indications are they’ll seriously explore taking one of the draft’s top [quarterbacks] as they move into the Jerod Mayo era."

It appears the top quarterbacks for many talent evaluators in this year’s draft are USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.