New England Patriots: 'Trade Mac Jones!' Advises Colin Cowherd; 1 Big Problem

A big problem with New England Patriots trade talk, from Colin Cowherd and any other critic: If Mac Jones is as bad as he's looked, bad enough to get benched, bad enough to be disliked in the locker room ... Why in the world would anybody want to trade for him?

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones at this moment embodies the word "beleaguered.'' This past Sunday, Jones was benched in the third quarter of the Patriots’ 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. ... another suggestion that maybe the former first-rounder and Pro Bowler does not exactly have universal support in the Bill Belichick-run building.

The dirty plays. The bad plays. The conflicts with coaches ... And now analyst Colin Cowherd is talking about the situation with Jones on his show "The Herd'' on FS1 with what Cowherd believes is the solution: The Pats need to trade Jones.

Mac Jones and Bill Belichick :: Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports

Cowherd in this segment repeatedly suggests that he's "heard'' that Jones "has no allies'' in the Patriots organization, hinting that that includes in the locker room. We would note there that it's difficult for a talk-show host in Los Angeles who has never stepped foot in a locker room in Foxboro to know that ...

But that doesn't mean we're going to die on a hill of disagreement with Cowherd's claim.

"I don't think he has any allies in the building."

— @ColinCowherd says why the Patriots should move off Mac Jones pic.twitter.com/oE2j7gBOeB

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 2, 2023

At the same time, as the 1-3 Pats are reeling from the worst defeat New England has suffered during the Belichick era - "Surreal!'' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called it - we've got to deal in reality here. Jones, who went 12-for-21 with 150 yards, two interceptions and a fumble against the Cowboys, is not the singular problem. Indeed, as we have written, at some point, owner Robert Kraft may decide that the problem runs all the way to the top of the franchise - meaning scrutiny on Belichick and his job security.

This New England team has virtually no shot at keeping pace with AFC East powers Buffalo and Miami. And that's going to require a long look in the Foxboro mirror. But ... while Cowherd can be right in predicting that the Patriots will end up drafting a quarterback in the spring, a sign of a start-over at the position and a move-on from Mac. ... there is a hole in the "Trade Mac'' argument ...

If Mac Jones is as bad as he's looked, bad enough to get benched, bad enough to be disliked in the locker room ... Why in the world would anybody want to trade for him?