Former Patriots assistant addresses Bill Belichick, Mac Jones rumors

Former New England Patriots assistant to the coaching staff Michael Lombardi isn't buying that head coach Bill Belichick "shopped" quarterback Mac Jones to other teams this offseason. 

According to Mark Daniels of MassLive, Lombardi declared on the latest edition of "The GM Shuffle" podcast that "I know (Belichick is) not shopping Mac" and that there is a difference between other executives calling the Patriots about Jones and Belichick actively making the 2021 first-round draft pick available. 

Lombardi was reacting to a Tuesday report that named the Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders as "potential destinations" for Jones.

"Did the Texans call Bill and say, 'Are you going to move Mac?' And he said, 'What do you offer?' Because every player is available, right? But not every player is being shopped," Lombardi explained. "So, the idea that he’s shopping Mac is against everything he would do. First of all, he’s the most secretive person in the league. He’s not going to tell you anything he’s doing. Even some people in the organization don’t know. But if somebody comes to him and says, 'I’ll give you a (first) for Mac.' I mean, OK, does that mean he’s shopping him? No, that just means somebody asked the question."

Lombardi isn't the first noteworthy person to pour cold water over the "shopped" claim even though NFL insider Albert Breer did say that he has it "on good authority" that "Mac Jones' name came up a few times" in calls that occurred "during the combine" and "before free agency." It's believed Belichick is unhappy that Jones asked for help from people outside the organization when the New England offense was struggling to produce positive results this past season. 

"I’ll say correctly, he’s not being shopped. The report's erroneous," Lombardi continued. Interestingly, Lombardi also said that Belichick "knows the repercussions" associated with trying to trade Jones. 

Patriots insider Tom E. Curran insisted in February that New England trading Jones before 2024 would only happen "over (team owner) Robert Kraft's dead body."