Mac Jones will not be in the Broncos QB mix

You can cross Mac Jones off the list of potential Broncos quarterbacks.

The 2021 first-round pick of the Patriots will join the Jacksonville Jaguars after the teams agreed on a trade that sends a sixth-round pick back to New England in exchange for Jones. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the deal.

In Jacksonville, Mac Jones will operate as a clear No. 2 to Trevor Lawrence. Jones and Lawrence were both part of the same draft class, with Lawrence going No. 1 overall and Jones going off the board 14 picks later.

Jones had declining form over three Patriots seasons, although his best season — his first — came with Josh McDaniels as the New England play-caller. McDaniels left for an ill-fated hitch as Las Vegas’ head coach after the 2021 campaign, and the Patriots replaced him with a pair of former NFL head coaches without offensive play-calling experience. Jones’ fortunes tailed off thereafter.

MAC JONES MIGHT NOT HAVE GONE OVER WELL IN BRONCOS COUNTRY

Now, a team can’t make moves based on what the fans want. As longtime NBA broadcaster Johnny “Red” Kerr was known to say, “If you listen to the fans, you end up sitting next to them.”

And while social-media polls are notably unscientific, it seemed as though the notion of Mac Jones didn’t pass the eye or smell test for many Broncos fans:

Poll time:

Should the Broncos trade for Mac Jones?

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) March 9, 2024

Broncos coach Sean Payton spoke highly of Jones during his rookie season. Specifically, Payton praised Jones’ processing abilities to NFL on Fox’s Jay Glazer in a conversation that Glazer relayed during a 2021 edition of FOX NFL Sunday.

But Payton and the Broncos will look in other directions.