New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn’t saying who his starting quarterback will be for Week 8 Sunday against the New York Jets. Welcome to the dogs days of the NFL betting season. 

Mac Jones started for the Patriots in a 33-14 loss to the Bears on Monday Night Football in Week 7 but got pulled once New England fell behind by 10 points in the second quarter.

Rookie Bailey Zappe rallied New England to a 14-10 lead before the Patriots defense fell apart and Justin Fields rediscovered his Ohio State groove. 

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New England gave up 230 yards on the ground, but we’ve got a quarterback controversy in Foxboro. 

Let’s play along. What’s next for the Patriots? Cliches are merely truisms in disguise. When you have two quarterbacks, you really have no quarterbacks. 

Belichick-ologists know that the coach has no favorites. His tendency is to go with whomever is playing the best ball. Belichick wants us to believe that starting Jones and then pulling him was the plan all the way along. Of course, Belichick also told ESPN that he planned to play Zappe and Jones in the second half. 

That never happened. 

Mac Jones Next Team Odds For 2023

This week, the Patriots and Belichick face their Forever Nemesis in the Jets. Jones is now playing for his job whenever he takes a snap. Quite a fall for a QB who won seven in a row as a rookie to get the Patriots into the playoffs last season.

The Patriots, like just about every other 3-4 team in the NFL, face a must-win matchup in Week 8. If Jones struggles this week and/or eventually loses the starting job to Zappe, will the Patriots move on from him in the offseason? 

These NFL futures odds are for entertainment purposes only and have been created by our Bookies.com handicapper. They do not reflect actual odds that may be available on betting apps.

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We’re just following Belichick’s lead here. When asked Tuesday if a healthy Jones would be his starter, The Hoodie deemed that a “hypothetical question” and gave a non-answer. 

So until we have a final answer, we’ll keep asking questions.

Jones A Valuable Commodity Under Rookie Contract

Jones would be a valuable commodity in the trade market this offseason. Starting next season, Jones will have two years left on his rookie contract, plus that fifth option year. His cap hit is just $4.25 million in 2023 and $4.99 million in 2024. He’s played for, and presumably learned from, Josh McDaniels and Belichick. And he would be a prized acquisition for any team that needs help at the QB spot. 

Jones went 15^th in the 2021 draft and would likely require a first-rounder in return, or multiple seconds/thirds. 

All the teams on our list have first-round picks available to deal for 2023 or ’24. And they could also put together a package that would include multiple second or third rounders, as well. Dealing one or more of those picks for a QB with real-world NFL experience who could still have upside makes plenty of sense. 

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The Buccaneers are certainly the most intriguing team on this list. Tom Brady is slogging through his toughest season in 20 years. It was 2002 when Brady last played for a team that was 3-4. Brady is on a one-year deal with the Buccaneers. Brady’s backups are Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask. Neither one will be enough to satisfy the Buccaneers fan base in a post-Brady world, no matter how poorly Tampa Bay finishes this season. 

The Lions will have a new coach next season and likely the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick. That means their second rounder will as good as a first. And very tantalizing. The Colts benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger this week. Ehlinger has only taken three NFL snaps. That’s a situation to watch. The same story holds in Carolina. The Panthers have used three different QBs this season, and that doesn’t include Sam Darnold, who was the projected preseason Week 1 starter before he got hurt.

The Commanders lost Carson Wentz to IR for at least four weeks. Veteran journeyman Taylor Heinicke is filling in for now. Wentz carries a hefty cap hit for the next two seasons. But the Commanders would save $5 million by cutting him before the new league year in March.

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