Mac Jones and the New England Patriots did not have a good 2022 season, but they still almost managed to make it into the playoffs anyways. This offseason, the team will be looking to set Jones up for success after giving him little help on the field, a poor coaching staff, and a quarterback controversy when they opted to replace him with Bailey Zappe in their Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears.

While that seems like the best course of action, it may not actually be what the Patriots end up doing this offseason. Jones ruffled some feathers with his actions in 2022, and of course, we all know that Zappe held his own when filling in for Jones. Rumors have surfaced that Jones could be traded this offseason, and while part of that is due to Bill Belichick being unhappy with how Jones handled things in 2022, it sounds like the team doesn't think he's much better than Zappe as well.

“Internally, I don't know if they see this massive gap between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. I'm not saying they think Bailey's as good as Mac, but there was some element of Bailey doing what he was coached to do last year that I think gave Bailey the edge to some degree for a little while there.” – Albert Breer, Zolak and Bertrand

Zappe certainly impressed during his time under center for the Pats in 2022, and when you combine that with how bad Jones looked, it's not hard to see why the team may feel this way. Still, New England used a first-round pick on Jones for a reason, and it seems like they will give him another shot to figure things out before completely cutting ties with him. But 2023 might be Jones' last shot with New England, especially now that Zappe may be breathing down his neck.