Bill Belichick’s goal for the future is directly related to the implementation of his immediate tasks. With Don Shula’s permanent win as a mentor seemingly on the horizon, the Belichick Patriots should see an early improvement in productivity numbers and deliver results in the 2023 gaming campaign. Since it is unlikely that the first will take place without the second – nevertheless, the main coach of New England is already over the seventh decade, and it is not a fact that he will have the opportunity to extend his pursuit somewhere in the future. If you like to bet on American football, we suggest doing it through the mostbet app Bangladesh mobile application.
Belichick is only 18 wins short of Shula (regular season and playoffs). Even if Bill’s team wins 10 fights a year, this means at least two more seasons he will be in the ranks. If things don’t go well, then three or four. That’s why the Patriots office shouldn’t rule out much this offseason, including the idea of improving as a starting quarterback.
It is not yet clear whether Belichick was, as claimed, estimating Jones’ market price this offseason by talking to other clubs. True, a source who is close to this topic said that trade negotiations in the off-season, as usual, will affect almost any decent player – all team coaches and general managers want to be aware of who can potentially be available and how much their player is valued.
Chaos in attack
If Bill was actually negotiating with a franchise office that needs a starting quarterback, it would be odd that Jones’s name wasn’t mentioned on the matter. The only duck, for obvious reasons, belonged to the Raiders. Jones finished the second very difficult season, being on top of the mountain under the name “Chaos on offense”. Almost all insiders agree that the relationship between Belichick and Mack is clearly far from ideal and needs serious improvement. It seems that the promising passer considers the current attacking schemes unsatisfactory. In that sense, teams that are hankering for a starter might reasonably think that Jones is a possible trade.
Recently, however, several AFC and NFC front office employees said they were not approached by the Patriots at all about a possible Jones trade. Clearly, it’s unrealistic to be privy to all the phone calls, and in particular to backstage conversations at the Combine or a clubhouse gathering, though such a fact at least means that Belichick still hasn’t set a price tag in front of Mack’s house.
If the Pats really represented Jones as a commodity with which they are ready to part without regret, then, according to this logic, they could negotiate with teams that have serious difficulties under the center. The 2021 opening round selection will be of immense value: he played a fairly productive opening season (the attacking coordinator was changed in the second) and he will continue to be under the club’s control for at least three seasons, including the option of a fifth year.
Clearly, Mac has had a lot of problems in the past year. It was regularly discussed by football analysts that throughout the entire season, the New England offense was so unstable, poorly coordinated and almost out of sync, the quarterback simply no longer had any options and opportunities for great success. That’s because of this, such global differences in comparison with the launch campaign, being managed by the recognized maestro Josh McDaniels. In other words, if Jones really were put up for transfer by the Patriots, albeit quietly, there would be a lively and real interest in him.
Partly for this reason, it was reasonable for Belichick to investigate the financial value of a football player in the current off-season.
Belichick has 329 wins on his track record. He is the second-best head coach in NFL history, and Robert Kraft again voiced his desire to return to the playoffs last week.
Will the conflict be resolved?
Belichick and Jones desperately need to resolve their conflicts and differences. Without a truce, there will be no compromise, and this could additionally cause new problems and aggravate an already difficult situation in 2023.
However, since the conflict between the coach and the quarterback is a reality, this story can be further developed. Recall that Belichick got rid of safety Loyer Milloy in 2003, wide receiver Randy Moss in 2010, linebacker Jamie Collins in 2016, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017 for a variety of reasons – “naughty” being one of them – to name but four among the many reasons. All four of these moves were done instantly.
On the other hand, if Belichick had indeed decided to end Jones out of frustration with a lingering dispute, he would have already found a buyer and switched to finding a new passer. After all, judging by his track record and carte blanche from Kraft, this kind of deal does not take much time.
The idea of selling Jones now makes less sense than it did a month ago. Bailey Zappi probably won’t be able to knock Mack Jones out of the cage at summer camp unless Belichick believes in Brock Purdy’s example. And with a 14-overall pick in the draft, there’s no chance of being within reach of the top four quarterbacks in the class – Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Lewis. The only solution is to climb behind Lewis, who so far looks like the most achievable goal of the four. It’s just worth figuring out how much of an upgrade Jones is. The fifth-best passer in the draft, Hendon Hooker, is still recovering from an ACL tear and will not help Belichick win in 2023.
Selling Jones now, without a clear market decision or a clear understanding of the draft situation, would put the Patriots in danger of underperforming last year’s 8-9. And such an outcome can make Kraft, for the first time in a quarter of a century, seriously think about the fate of a person in the place of the head coach.
It looks like right now Belichick believes in the Bill O’Brien lottery ticket and the weapon that was added in March. The straw is covered. But this does not mean that the head coach and part-time general manager is not considering alternative options. If tomorrow you hear about the Jones trade, don’t be surprised.
