But head coach Bill Belichick expressed lukewarm support for Jones after New England fell below .500 and missed the postseason for the second time in three years.
When the Patriots played at Lambeau Field in October, Belichick asked Rodgers for a pregame chat and raved about the 39-year-old signal caller at the postgame press conference.
“In the end, I think Rodgers is too strong,” Belichick said after the Packers won 27-24 in overtime. “He made some throws that only Rogers can do. There was pretty good press on some of them. He was too smart, too good, too accurate. … He was a great, great player and made some great plays.”
Rodgers was one of the all-time great quarterbacks and was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2020 and 2021, but his numbers have plummeted this season. His 91.1 passer rating and his 39.3 QBR are both the worst of his career, and he has almost as many interceptions (12) as he has in the last three seasons total (13). threw The 12 picks were his highest since 2008, his first season as a starter. After three straight seasons of 13 wins, Green Bay went 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Jones’ numbers got even worse after the Patriots paired him with an ineffective offensive coaching staff led by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. New England has already admitted to failing on that front, announcing plans to hire a real offensive coordinator ahead of the 2023 campaign, Belichick said last week that former Patriots OC he’d hired Bill O’Brien. We interviewed five of his candidates, including
The Patriots may believe their new coordinator will be able to rekindle the promise Jones showed as a rookie. It’s still possible.
As of Sunday, the DraftKings Sportsbook ranked the Patriots as the fifth most likely to acquire Rodgers this offseason, behind the Packers, Raiders, Jets and 49ers.
