Mac Jones didn't have the best second season to his NFL career, but a former New England Patriots quarterback thinks he can turn it around.

Patriots Hall of Famer Drew Bledsoe believes Jones can be the Patriots' long-term quarterback, even if he doesn't have the running ability of other top signal-callers. That led Bledsoe to say that the onus falls on the Patriots to surround Jones with the talent and coaches needed in order to help him elevate to that next level.

“First of all, he’s very well-respected in the locker room and the organization. He works his butt off,” Bledsoe said on the “Off The Pike” podcast hosted by The Ringer's Brian Barrett. “He’s not going to overpower anybody, he’s not Pat Mahomes, but within the framework of an offense he can be very, very efficient.

“I think he can be a franchise quarterback. But they’ve got to make sure that they have the right offense and the right pieces around him in order for that to work. He’s never going to be Lamar Jackson and just go take over a game with his legs, or with his arm strength, but within the confines of the position of playing quarterback, he can be very, very good at that as long as they put the right pieces and the right plan around him.”

Mac Jones certainly struggled in 2022. He threw for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with an 84.8 passer rating in 14 games. He also ran for just 102 yards as he dealt with an ankle injury that forced him to miss three games en route to New England finishing with the league's 26th overall offense and an 8-9 record to miss the playoffs.

The performance from Jones, coupled with Bailey Zappe's performance in the games he missed, led many to wonder if he's the right guy at quarterback for the Patriots moving forward this offseason.

They've been connected to at least a couple of starting-caliber quarterbacks, which hasn't done much to die the noise down that Jones is the guy the Patriots want for the long haul. The Patriots were linked to Jackson after the Baltimore Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him in March. Patriots owner Robert Kraft even said that Jackson wants to come to New England, at least that's what Meek Mill told him.

Kentucky quarterback and likely top-10 pick Will Levis also reportedly visited New England on the final day of top-30 draft visits. One of Levis' strengths in college was his ability to make plays with his legs, adding some fuel to the fire that the Patriots could be looking for a dual-threat quarterback.

But Bledsoe still thinks the Patriots need to find a way to work things out with Jones. In fact, he actually thinks his former employer put the second-year quarterback in a bad spot by making Matt Patricia the offensive play caller and Joe Judge the quarterbacks coach.

Bledsoe explained why having Patricia having such a huge role in the Patriots' offense “didn’t seem to make much sense.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Robert Kraft saying "don't trade the pick" to Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo

Conor Roche ·

Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne with a phone in his hands and a word bubble saying “Come to New England”. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is on the other side of the image.

Ben Strauss ·

Patriots' Tom Brady

Owen Crisafulli ·

“There really is an art to it and there’s a flow to play-calling that changes and morphs during the course of a game, and I don’t know that that’s something you can just pick up in one year, regardless of how smart you are,” Bledsoe said. “So that was a surprising decision. I’ll be very curious to watch and see how it works with Bill O’Brien this year. I think that’s going to be much better for Mac, but we’ll wait and see.”

The Patriots already work to rectify that this offseason, hiring Bill O'Brien to be their offensive coordinator.