Three-time Patriots Super Bowl champion sounds alarms about sticking with Mac Jones

Mike Reiss of ESPN shared in a piece published on Thursday morning that some within the New England Patriots "seem hopeful" that much-maligned quarterback Mac Jones "can make a U-turn in New England" while working with new head coach Jerod Mayo. 

Former Patriots safety, three-time Super Bowl champion and current NFL analyst Devin McCourty sounds pessimistic about Jones' future with the team that spent a 2021 first-round draft pick to land his services.

"You have to give guys in the locker room a reason to believe you can win games with whoever you have at quarterback," McCourty told Reiss. "You watch Kansas City, which was horrible at times this year, and those guys still believed because, 'We have Patrick Mahomes.' We had [Tom] Brady for a long time in New England and it was the same thing. This past season when you watched New England, across the board, it was a feeling of 'No matter what we do, we won't probably win because of what we have on offense.' I'm not saying that was all Mac or [backup Bailey] Zappe's fault, but it starts with who you have at quarterback."

McCourty offered his take after Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon said earlier this month that he doesn't "care" who serves as New England's starting signal-caller next season and simply wants "our offense to score points." Despite that lack of endorsement from Judon and whispers about a "toxic" quarterback room existing in New England over the past two years, new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt told reporters Wednesday that "everything is on the table" regarding the club's QB1 situation. 

Individuals such as Field Yates of ESPN and Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports routinely predict in their mock drafts that the Patriots will select Jones' replacement with the third overall pick of this year's draft. However, CBS' Chris Trapasso is among those who think New England could use the No. 3 choice to acquire Ohio State Buckeyes star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. instead of a quarterback. 

McCourty seems to want New England to spend the third pick on either LSU Tigers star signal-caller Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Chicago Bears are expected to draft USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams first overall. 

"New England getting a guy in the building like that would change the outlook for every player, every staff member, and give them something to get excited about," McCourty said about the Patriots walking away with one of the top quarterback prospects of this year's draft class.