Former MVP loves Jaguars getting Patriots' Mac Jones

One-time Most Valuable Player and current CBS Sports NFL analyst Matt Ryan made it known during a Monday appearance on the FanDuel TV "Up & Adams" program that he is a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars taking a flier on former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick this offseason. 

"I view it as no downside," Ryan said about the expected trade, as shared by Adam London of NESN. "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, I think it’s hard to have a complete picture of what Mac Jones is as a quarterback in this league. (Jaguars QB1) 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." 

Jones' relationship with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reportedly began to fall apart during the 2022 season, and Belichick pulled Jones from games four different times this past campaign before the 2021 first-round draft pick spent the season's final six contests as a benched spectator. Additionally, multiple stories have described what was said to be a "toxic" situation inside New England's quarterback room over the past two years. 

As for Lawrence, he missed a start for the first time in his career when he sat with a sprained right shoulder this past December. The Jaguars ultimately missed the playoffs and finished the season with a 9-8 record. 

Ryan noted how current Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson needed to turn to backup quarterback Nick Foles to help the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LII when starter Carson Wentz was injured during the 2017 season. 

"I look at it and say if they’re really trying to win a Super Bowl, if they’re trying to build it and you can get a backup quarterback that has so much starting experience and an ability to go win games, you never know what’s going to Trevor Lawrence," Ryan added about Jacksonville officially landing Jones after the new league year opens on Wednesday. "If you can acquire a guy for a sixth-round pick, to me it makes a lot of sense." 

Both Jones and New England clearly needed this divorce, and he now will enjoy a career reset spending the spring and summer knowing he'll learn a new offense as a backup as long as Lawrence stays healthy. Perhaps Pederson can succeed in getting the best out of Jones after Belichick failed the 25-year-old in multiple ways following the 2021 season.