Jacksonville Jaguars to decline Mac Jones’ fifth-year option

After trading for Mac Jones earlier in the offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars do not plan to pick up his fifth-year option ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. The franchise announced other decisions but did not include Jones.

Jacksonville sent a sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for Jones earlier this spring following an up-and-down stint in Foxboro. As a rookie out of Alabama in 2021, he put up impressive numbers with 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns to finish second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. He also had a 10-7 record as the starter.

However, things didn’t go well after that, as Jones went 8-17 under center over the next two years and didn’t reach the 3,000-yard mark again. He eventually got benched in favor of Bailey Zappe, and when the Patriots clinched the No. 3 overall pick in the draft this year, the question was what would be next for Jones. Those plans became clear when they signed Jacoby Brissett.

Jones then headed to the Jaguars and New England used the pick to take former North Carolina standout Drake Maye as, hopefully, its quarterback of the future.

Mac Jones isn’t the Jaguars’ only big decision

Jacksonville had a handful of fifth-year options to make ahead of Thursday, and two of those officially came on Monday. Both Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne are set to return in 2025.

The former Clemson teammates were both first-round draft picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Lawrence went No. 1 overall and the Jaguars then selected Etienne at No. 25. Their rookie deals included fifth-year options, which allows the team to keep them on for one more year without having to negotiate. The fifth-year option price tags are lower than what they would pay to extend them on long-term deals.

After the Jaguars took him first overall, Lawrence inked a four-year deal for $36.79 million. His fifth-year option only costs them $25.66 million, which is half the going rate of the league’s best-paid quarterbacks. As for Etienne, his fifth-year option is estimated to be $6.143 million for the 2025 season.

Etienne, who had to miss his first season with the Jaguars as he recovered from injury, is coming off of his second 1,000-yard rushing season. He had 1,008 rushing yards with a career-high 11 rushing touchdowns. In 2022, he posted 1,125 yards and five rushing touchdowns. He’s also added 792 receiving yards over the last two seasons.

Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report.