Mac Jones Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Patriots are sending QB Mac Jones to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. That should be enough to set Jones as Trevor Lawrence's backup, given that he carries a $5 million cap number. It's also almost certainly just a one-year setup. Jacksonville must now decide this offseason on Jones' fifth-year option (for 2025) -- and that'll be an easy "no" on a year that would guarantee nearly $26 million in salary. We'll see whether Jones gets a shot to redeem himself in Jacksonville ... and where he lands in 2025. His only real dynasty value at this point is as a handcuff to Lawrence in superflex formats.

The Patriots named Alex Van Pelt their new OC under HC Jerod Mayo. Van Pelt spent the last four seasons as Cleveland's OC, although he didn't call plays for the Browns. Van Pelt did call plays for the Bills way back in 2009. That team finished 30th in total yards and 28th in points under QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards. Van Pelt worked as QBs coach for the Bucs, Packers, and Bengals in between his OC stints and is expected to bring a West Coast offense to New England. We'll see what the Patriots do at QB this offseason. They hold the third overall pick and will have a crack at USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, and/or LSU's Jayden Daniels.

The Patriots are preparing to start QB Bailey Zappe against the Chargers this weekend, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. QB Mac Jones was abysmal again last week, completing just 12 of 21 passes (57%) for 89 yards (4.2 YPA), 0 TDs, and two INTs before getting yanked for Zappe. This might be the end of Jones' time in New England. Zappe, of course, has not been any better than Jones this season. He's completed only 49% of his passes at 4.0 yards per attempt across four appearances. He was better in two starts last season, tallying a 75% completion rate and 9.0 yards per attempt. "The Patriots are hoping that a full week of practice and game preparation helps bring out a better performance from Zappe," The Athletic's Chad Graff writes. "They hope that Zappe will be better against the Chargers than he’s been in relief this season now that he’ll get more reps in practice and with a gameplan built around what he can do." We'll see how Zappe fares, but this remains a passing game to avoid in Week 13 fantasy lineups.

Patriots QB Mac Jones was yanked in favor of QB Bailey Zappe at halftime of Sunday's game vs. the Giants. Jones went 12-of-21 for 89 yards, 0 TDs, and two INTs over the first 30 minutes, producing 0 points. We'll see how Zappe fares and what the Patriots do at QB going forward. It'll remain a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms that Patriots QB Mac Jones will start today's game vs. the Giants. Garafolo adds that QB Bailey Zappe is "likely to be in the mix as well." It's unclear exactly what that means -- but it's clear that you should avoid this situation in Week 12 fantasy lineups.

ESPN's Adam Schefter tweets that "signs continue to point to" Patriots QB Mac Jones starting today's game vs. the Giants. The team had not yet been informed of the starting QB on Friday, per Schefter, which seems less than ideal. You should be avoiding this situation in Week 12 fantasy lineups.

Patriots QB Mac Jones was benched for the final drive of Sunday’s loss to the Colts. Bailey Zappe took over and promptly threw a game-ending INT on his seventh attempt. How’d we get here? Well, Jones posted only 170 yards and 1 INT on 15-of-20 passing. He misfired badly on several throws, including one that should have gone for a late score. Jones also took a season-high five sacks. New England will evaluate its QB options during a Week 11 bye. Note that Zappe targeted Demario Douglas four times in today’s limited action. Overall, the Round 6 rookie led the team across the board with 9 targets, 6 catches, and 84 yards. He's the most reliable piece of a bottom-barrel pass offense and should retain some WR3/FLEX value in PPR leagues, especially with Kendrick Bourne out for the year.

In a shocking turn of events, Patriots QB Mac Jones played competent football on Sunday vs. the Bills. The third-year starter completed 25 of 30 passes for 272 yards with 2 TDs in the upset Week 7 victory. While this performance doesn’t erase the abysmal three-game skid Jones has been on of late, he deserves a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate in this divisional contest. We won’t be super excited to roll him out in Week 8 vs. the Dolphins, but this showing at least puts him within the lower-end of the QB2 conversation in superflex leagues.

Patriots QB Mac Jones miraculously didn’t get benched in Week 6 vs. the Raiders. The former first-round NFL draft pick completed 24 of 33 passes for 200 yards with 1 INT in the contest. For those keeping score at home, Jones' 5 total fantasy points over the last three weeks match his number of INTs thrown in that span. He's indeed been a nightmare of late. Whispers that HC Bill Belichick might make a change at QB have grown louder over the past couple of weeks, and Jones’ effort on Sunday didn’t do much to lessen his odds of being replaced as New England’s starter. We’ll see if he gets the nod again in Week 7 vs. Bills. If he does, he should be nowhere near fantasy lineups.

Patriots QB Mac Jones will be on a "short leash" vs. the Raiders today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "A poor opening few series could potentially trigger another QB to take snaps in Las Vegas," Rapoport writes. It's unclear, though, whether QB Bailey Zappe or QB Will Grier would replace Jones. Rapoport adds that New England has a package of plays ready for rookie QB Malik Cunningham. It's obviously a situation to stay far away from in Week 6 fantasy lineups.

Patriots insider Greg Bedard believes the team will give QB Will Grier a shot if QB Mac Jones continues to struggle. "From talking to people around the team, I think if Mac Jones doesn’t succeed this week, if he doesn’t retain his job, I think it’s Will Grier’s," Bedard said in a Tuesday radio appearance. Grier has thrown 52 regular-season passes since being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft -- and none since his 2019 rookie season. He would not be an exciting fantasy option if he does take over in New England, but he might be worth stashing in deep superflex and 2-QB leagues.

Patriots QB Mac Jones is expected to start Sunday's game vs. the Raiders, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. "I’m told this is still an important week of practice for [Jones] as the Patriots evaluate every position on the roster on the heels of the worst two losses of Bill Belichick’s career," Howe adds. Jones has been awful the past two weeks: 56% completion rate, 6.1 yards per attempt, 0 TDs, and four INTs. It sounds like there's still a chance that a bad week of practice sends him to the bench in favor of QB Bailey Zappe. Either way, you should be avoiding this situation in Week 6 fantasy lineups.

Patriots QB Mac Jones tried to play football in Week 5 vs. the Saints, but a pair of INTs and a lost fumble really got in the way of success. He completed just 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards before being benched for Bailey Zappe for the second week in a row. To make matters worse, one of Jones’ INTs was a pick-six TD, his third in 2023 alone. Jones started the year with some promising performances, but these last two weeks have to leave fantasy managers wondering how much longer it’ll be before New England makes a change at QB. We’ll see who’s under center in Week 6 vs. the Raiders.

Patriots QB Mac Jones was benched in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Saints. New England was down 31-0 at that point, with Jones 12 of 22 for 110 yards, 0 TDs, two INTs, and fumble lost. QB Bailey Zappe will finish out the game for the Patriots. We'll see how he fares and who gets the Week 6 start vs. the Raiders.

Patriots QB Bailey Zappe got more reps in practice this week, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. QB Mac Jones has struggled the past two weeks, completing 54% of his passes with one TD and two INTs. "Other teams who watch the tape from the Cowboys game say Mac's eyes are down. He is looking at the rush. It's impossible to play on-time, efficient football like that," Pelissero says. "No change [at QB] is considered likely or imminent at this point," Pelissero adds. But it sure sounds like Jones' leash is shortening.

Patriots HC Bill Belichick said after Sunday's blowout loss to the Cowboys that QB Mac Jones remains the starter. Belichick indicated that Jones was pulled because of the lopsided score rather than his performance. Jones was not good against Dallas but had played reasonably well over the first three weeks of the season. He'll be back under center vs. the Saints next Sunday.