After Super Bowl Beatdown, Patriots Fans Find an Unlikely Pick-Me-Up in Mac Jones Jets Rumors
There’s no way around it - Super Bowl LX was rough for the New England Patriots. A 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on the biggest stage of the season stung, and the aftermath hasn’t exactly offered much relief.
Drake Maye, the rookie quarterback handed the keys to the franchise, looked overwhelmed by the moment and by a Seahawks defense that brought relentless pressure. The offensive line couldn’t keep him upright, and even the seasoned coaching staff seemed out of sorts. Aside from a fleeting fourth-quarter spark, the Patriots were outplayed from start to finish.
So yeah, Patriots fans could use a little levity right now - and oddly enough, they might be getting it from a familiar face in a very unfamiliar uniform.
A recent quarterback projection for the 2026 NFL season stirred up some unexpected buzz in New England. The piece, which polled multiple analysts on all 32 starting QB jobs, had the expected pick in Foxborough: Drake Maye, unanimous among the voters. No surprise there.
But the real eyebrow-raiser came from the rest of the AFC East. While Josh Allen remains the entrenched starter in Buffalo, both the Dolphins and Jets were predicted to have new faces under center - and that’s where things get interesting. Two of the votes for the Jets’ starting quarterback in 2026 went to none other than Mac Jones.
Yes, that Mac Jones. The same one who was booed off the field in New England, who lost the locker room, and who saw Bailey Zappe chants rain down from the stands by mid-2023. The same Mac Jones who was traded to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick in 2024 and then signed with the 49ers in 2025.
And now, according to a couple of analysts, he could be suiting up in Jets green? That’s the kind of twist Patriots fans didn’t see coming - but maybe needed.
Jones has been quietly rebuilding his value out west. When Brock Purdy missed time in 2025 with a toe injury, Jones stepped in and held down the fort, going 5-3 as a starter.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was solid - and in Kyle Shanahan’s system, that’s often enough. It’s also worth remembering that the 49ers were high on Jones leading up to the 2021 draft before ultimately choosing Trey Lance at No.
- Jones fell to New England at No. 15, but the connection with Shanahan lingered.
The 49ers signed him to a two-year, $8.4 million deal in 2025 - a cap-friendly number that could make him an appealing trade piece if they decide to move him. Still, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported over the weekend that San Francisco isn’t expected to deal Jones this offseason, especially with Purdy’s injury history now a factor.
That makes the prediction of Jones to the Jets even more intriguing. Two analysts - Matt Vautour and Lauren Campbell - placed him in East Rutherford, while others leaned toward veterans like Kirk Cousins or Kyler Murray.
But those Mac Jones votes? They hit different for Patriots fans.
It’s not that anyone in New England is pining for a reunion. The Jones era in Foxborough ended with more groans than gratitude.
The sideline blowups, the turnovers, the regression - it all added up to a messy divorce. When Jerod Mayo took over in 2024, it was clear the franchise was turning the page.
But the idea of Jones in a Jets uniform? That’s the kind of storyline that practically writes itself.
A former Patriots first-rounder, cast aside and counted out, potentially lining up against his old team in one of football’s most bitter rivalries? That’s drama.
That’s entertainment. That’s the NFL.
And while it’s still just speculation - a couple of predictions in a sea of offseason chatter - it’s the kind of thing that gives fans something to latch onto while they try to shake off the sting of Super Bowl LX.
Mac Jones hasn’t faced the Patriots since leaving town. If that day ever comes, especially in Jets colors, it’ll be must-see TV. Until then, Patriots fans can take some small comfort in the image of their former QB trying to win over the Meadowlands - and maybe, just maybe, imagining how that reunion might play out.
In a week where little has gone right for New England, the idea of Mac Jones in Jets green is the strange, unexpected boost nobody saw coming - but everybody seems to be enjoying.