The 2024 NFL season will mark the beginning of a new era of New England Patriots football. The Patriots have a new head coach in Jerod Mayo and are likely to have a new quarterback. It remains to be seen what will happen with former first-round pick Mac Jones, who is still under contract. But Bill Belichick being gone means he could remain in New England.
This week, MassLive.com wrote a sourced piece detailing the fallout between Jones and Belichick, claiming that communication between the two was "nonexistent" by the regular-season finale. Jones, of course, was benched for Bailey Zappe in the middle of the regular season. He reportedly worked hard behind the scenes after his demotion, but that work went unnoticed. In fact, Jones was demoted to emergency quarterback in Week 18, who is technically inactive on game days, without being informed beforehand.
That Week 18 matchup came against the rival New York Jets, who also had a struggling former first-round quarterback whom had been demoted multiple times in Zach Wilson. Before the game, Jones reportedly told a Jets staffer that he appreciated how the team handled Wilson's situation. The Athletic reported earlier this month that the Jets informed Wilson they planned to trade him this offseason after he was benched. As for Jones, he told those in the locker room that no one talks to him.
"It's a broken relationship," one Patriots source told MassLive.com.
Jones hit the ground running as a rookie, completing 67.6% of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while he went 10-7 as the starter and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. However, things then went downhill. After offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left New England to take over with the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones' performance -- and the Patriots offense at large -- struggled in 2022. In 2023, things got worse, as Jones went 2-9 as the starter and had his job taken.
The Patriots hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and are expected to select their quarterback of the future.
