FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have reached an agreement to trade quarterback Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, league officials told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday.
Sources told Schefter that the two sides were discussing a sixth-round draft pick as compensation. The trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins Wednesday and Jones passes a medical exam.
The Patriots have the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft, and many in the NFL expect them to select one of the highest-rated quarterbacks, likely LSU's Jaden Daniels and North Carolina's Drake. It will be decided between Mei.
Jones, who grew up in Jacksonville, joins his hometown team as a backup to 2021 No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence. Jones was selected 15th overall in the 2021 draft.
Jones is expected to compete with CJ Bearhardt as Lawrence's primary backup. Bearhardt is in the final year of a two-year, $4.5 million contract he signed before the 2023 season.
Beathard started just one game in three seasons in Jacksonville, leading the Jaguars to a 26-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 of last season, completing 17 of 24 passes for 178. Gained yards. This was the Jaguars' only win in their final six games as they missed the playoffs with a record of 9 wins and 8 losses.
Lawrence has played in every game of his NFL career since being taken No. 1 overall by the Jaguars in 2021 until he missed the Panthers' game due to a right (throwing) shoulder injury sustained in last week's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was in the starting lineup. Lawrence battled multiple injuries last season, including a sprained left knee, a sprained ankle, a concussion, and a shoulder injury. He did not fully participate in any practices during the final three weeks of the season.
Jones' three-year tenure with the Patriots began on a high note, as he was selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate during his rookie season. Jones started all 17 regular season games (a 47-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills) as the Patriots went 10-7 and qualified for the wild-card round of the playoffs.
As a rookie, Jones went 352-of-521 for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, but his numbers declined over the next two seasons. The arrival of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders was the first of several coaching and personnel changes that impacted Jones' development.
In 2022, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick turned to longtime defensive coach Matt Patricia to be the team's offensive play-caller and asked Patricia to implement a new vision for the offense. Longtime special teams coach Joe Judge has been named quarterbacks coach. The marriage between Patricia, Judge, and Jones did not produce the desired results, with Jones completing 288 of 442 for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. An ankle injury early in the season also affected Jones, as did his on-field decisions, which he admitted could have been handled better.
Belichick then hired former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to lead the offense in 2023 in hopes of getting Jones back on track, but that didn't happen. Jones went 224 of 345 for 2,120 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season, and Belichick benched him after 11 games in favor of Bailey Zappe.
The Patriots currently have Zappe and second-year player Nathan Rourke on their quarterback depth chart.
A team had a single pick in each round of the draft, so a sixth-round pick would give them an additional pick in that round, giving them eight picks overall.
ESPN's Michael DiRocco contributed to this report.