The Jacksonville Jaguars bolstered their quarterback room by trading for Mac Jones in exchange for a sixth-round pick. As a result, Jacksonville now has two of the top QB prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, a development that no one saw coming.
While this feels like a demotion to Mac Jones since he will be backing up Trevor Lawrence, CBS NFL analyst Matt Ryan sees this as a win-win situation for both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jones, especially for the latter since this gives him a fresh start to his NFL career.
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“I view it as no downside,” said the former NFL MVP during his recent appearance on the Up & Adams show. “You know, you talk about giving up a sixth-round pick. This was a first-round pick just a couple of years ago that was in a Pro Bowl.
“Given the circumstances that went on in New England too, you know, I think it is hard to have a complete picture of what Mac Jones is as a quarterback in this league. “To me, you know, Trevor Lawrence had those injury issues at the end of last season. He toughed it out and he gutted through it, which is admirable. But you never know when that’s going to happen,” he added.
Acquiring Mac Jones is a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Jacksonville Jaguars
In his rookie season, Mac Jones recorded 3,801 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions for a 67.6 completion percentage. He led the New England Patriots to a 10-7 record and a spot in the NFL playoffs.
However, in the two years since, Mac Jones has been on a steep decline, tallying a combined 24 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, and Bill Belichick has benched him on multiple occasions. In the same period, multiple stories have emerged, saying that Jones was in a “toxic” quarterback situation in New England.
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“He was good as a rookie and has regressed badly since,” wrote Albert Breer about Mac Jones in his mailbag article. “He was well-liked early on, but, over time, lost support in the building. And the quarterback room he was in the last two years got toxic to the point where Bailey Zappe, as a rookie, sometimes watched tape in the receiver room.”
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Matt Ryan also noted that adding a starting-caliber signal-caller like Mac Jones should come in handy for the Jacksonville Jaguars just in case Trevor Lawrence sustains an injury, similar to how current Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson turned to Nick Foles to win Super Bowl LII when starter Carson Wentz went down during the 2017 season.
