3 Players Patriots Must Target to Get Back in the Playoff Race
The New England Patriots reside in an impossible situation after Week 4.
The 38-3 loss at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys ended with Mac Jones on the bench in favor of Bailey Zappe.
It is becoming clearer that Jones may not be the guy at quarterback, and that could turn the 2023 season into a lost campaign.
Bill Belichick and his staff need to figure out if they want to continue with Jones, or make the drastic move of trading for a starting quarterback to potentially save the 2023 season.
There are plenty of starting-caliber players who are backups at the moment. If anything, a veteran signal-caller could bring stability to the offense and give the Patriots a chance to contend in the short term.
Jameis Winston
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There is no guarantee that any veteran quarterback who is currently a backup would be an improvement over Jones.
The Patriots may just have to stick it out with their current starter, but if they are willing to make the risk on the trade market, they must target players who would love another go around as a starter.
Jameis Winston is stuck behind Derek Carr on the New Orleans Saints depth chart. He appeared to be in line for a Week 4 start, but Carr gutted through a shoulder injury to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Carr could continue to play as his shoulder heals, which would keep Winston on the bench.
Winston comes with his turnover problems, but the good could outweigh the bad. After all, he did throw for 5,000 yards during the 2019 season with Tampa Bay before the Bucs landed Tom Brady.
The Patriots would have to be willing to part with a mid-to-late-round draft pick to land Winston, or any veteran quarterback, but that may be worth it given how poorly Jones has played in 2023.
Sam Darnold
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Sam Darnold is comfortably sitting on the San Francisco 49ers bench behind Brock Purdy.
The former New York Jets and Carolina Panthers starter looked good enough in preseason that he forced the 49ers to trade Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys.
San Francisco would probably be unwilling to deal Darnold because it needs insurance for Purdy just in case he gets hurt.
From New England's perspective, Darnold may be the best option on the trade market. He comes with built-in experience inside the AFC East from his time with the Jets.
Darnold may be perfectly fine with his backup role in San Francisco, but part of him could want one more shot at being a starter, especially after how poor his term in Carolina went.
New England might not be the ideal situation for Darnold because there are other offensive fixes that need to be made, but it also may be one of the few teams who could offer a starting job to a veteran signal-caller anytime soon.
Marquise Brown
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If the Patriots feel like they can win many more games with Jones, they may attempt to bring him more pass-catching help.
Marquise Brown is in the last year of his contract with the Arizona Cardinals and he could be one of the most coveted players ahead of the trade deadline.
Arizona will be competing for the No. 1 overall pick more than a playoff spot, and it might be willing to offload some veteran players in order to secure a high draft pick.
Brown is the type of wide receiver that the Patriots needed to acquire in the offseason. They whiffed on DeAndre Hopkins before he chose the Tennessee Titans.
A pass-catching unit of Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker could be serviceable enough to make Jones look like a competent quarterback.
New England plays two winnable games against the Saints and Las Vegas Raiders in the next two weeks, and if it sits at 3-3 entering Week 7, it could be more willing to add a big-time target for Jones to chase a playoff position.
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