Former Patriots' QB Mac Jones will likely start for Jaguars in Week 10
FOXBORO -- Former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones could be logging a number of starts for the Jacksonville Jaguars the rest of the season. With Trevor Lawrence dealing with a shoulder injury and contemplating surgery, Jones will likely get the start for the Jaguars on Sunday when they host the Minnesota Vikings.
If Lawrence opts to undergo surgery on his shoulder, Jones would likely start the team's final eight games of the 2024 NFL season.
Lawrence is still considered day-to-day with his injury, but Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported Wednesday that he's unlikely to play in Week 10 against Minnesota. That would elevate Jones from backup to starter, and he took first-team reps at practice on Thursday.
Jones has only appeared in two games for Jacksonville this season and both stints came at the end of blowout losses. He's completed six of his nine passes for 28 yards, while also taking two sacks.
Mac Jones' Patriots career
Jones was drafted 15th overall by the Patriots in 2021 out of Alabama, and he beat out veteran Cam Newton in training camp to take over as New England's starter as a rookie. The Patriots kept the training wheels on his for his rookie campaign, but he had a pretty solid first season in the NFL. Jones completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as a rookie. The Patriots went 10-7 to make the playoffs, and Jones was named a Pro Bowl replacement at season's end.
But the wheels started falling off for Jones and the Patriots in 2022 after offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to take over the Raiders. Jones was left with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as his offensive coaches, and he took a massive step back in Year 2. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 that forced him to miss three games, and when he did return, he seemingly lost confidence by the week.
The Patriots were 6-8 with Jones at quarterback in 2022 and finished the year at 8-9. Jones threw for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions for the season.
He started the first 11 games for the Patriots in 2023, but was benched four times for Bailey Zappe and ultimately lost his starting job in Week 12 after a 2-9 start to the season. Jones never played another snap for the Patriots, and was inactive for Week 18.
Jones, a Jacksonville native, was traded to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick over the offseason. He missed a chance to play against his former team by a few weeks, as the Jaguars beat the Patriots in Week 7 in London.
Jones actually had one of the best games of his New England career against the Vikings, when he threw for a career-best 383 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-26 loss in Minnesota on Thanksgiving night in 2022.
