Report: Patriots players 'not happy' over Mac Jones trade rumors

It appears Mac Jones still has at least a few friends inside the New England Patriots locker room amid reports that head coach Bill Belichick "shopped" the quarterback this offseason. 

"I've spoken to players who are not happy that this is in the news, that the Patriots and their potential interest in trading Mac Jones is out there in the public sphere," NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry said during the latest edition of "The Next Pats Podcast," per Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. "They aren't happy on Mac's behalf; they aren't happy, period, on their own behalves. They're not happy that 2022 is bleeding into 2023." 

Multiple in-the-know individuals have poured cold water over the report from last Tuesday that indicated the Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders were "potential destinations" for Jones after he allegedly angered Belichick. 

It was said in January that Jones had "universal support in the locker room" even though some players seemingly wanted 2022 rookie Bailey Zappe to start over the 2021 first-round draft pick during the fall. 

Perry explained that "a variety of different folks -- with the team, formerly with the team, understanding of the situation, watching the situation from afar" believe Jones was not properly coached during his sophomore pro season. The Patriots have since hired Bill O'Brien to be their new offensive coordinator.

"Folks in the building understand he was in an adverse situation, and that is putting it gently," Perry added about Jones. "It's really difficult to hold it against him that he tried to fix it on his own. This is how people view this: Mac Jones felt as though he had exhausted all options available to him in the building, so he went out and pursued improvement elsewhere. And he might be punished because of that? He might be traded because of that. That's him writing his own ticket out of town? There's an absurdity to all of this that is not lost on Patriots employees." 

The Patriots are not expected to pursue a proven option such as Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson or Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, and New England missed out on other quarterbacks who signed elsewhere in free agency. Hartwell noted that "an actual trade of Jones still feels like a long shot," and it's thought team owner Robert Kraft remains high on the 24-year-old heading into what's hoped to be a bounce-back campaign.