JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded sixth-round pick for quarterback Mac Jones last offseason, the plan was for him to be Trevor Lawrence‘s backup. And he was — until Lawrence suffered shoulder and head injuries.
But with Lawrence out for the rest of the season, Jones now finds himself in an opportunistic situation. The 2021 No. 10 overall pick is in the last season of his rookie contract, and he will become an unrestricted free agent in March. Now, he has the opportunity to put together a solid audition for his next contract if he plays well.
“Everybody’s trying to play well each game and my goal is to focus on this week,” Jones said as the Jaguars prepared for Sunday’s game at the Las Vegas Raiders (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). “I’ve historically done a really good job of that, and I need to get back to playing fundamental quarterback. That’s just the simple things, going through my reads, taking what the defense gives me, and leading the team down the field.
“I’m trying to focus on the now and the present. … I understand that this league is about opportunity and we have a great one this week.”
Through his first four starts, during which the Jaguars are 1-3, and three relief appearances, Jones has completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,026 yards and four touchdowns with seven interceptions.
That’s not exactly an impressive resume for the former first-round pick who fell out of favor in New England, spent the final six games of 2023 on the bench, and then was traded in March.
But there was a slight improvement last Sunday.
During Jones’ first three starts — losses to Minnesota and Detroit and a win vs. Tennessee — the Jaguars scored 23 combined points. Last week against the New York Jets, they scored 25 points in the loss.
Jones threw for a season-high 294 yards — the most passing yards he’s had since the 2023 season opener with the Patriots — and led the Jaguars to their first opening-drive touchdown since Week 13 of last season, a span of 19 games.
“What you saw in the game Sunday [shows where Jones’ improvement has come]: His decision-making, getting the ball out of his hand, knowing exactly where to go, understanding the offense, understanding the route combinations against the defense, just taking another step in that direction,” head coach Doug Pederson said.
“He learned a new offense this entire year and now he’s getting a chance to go play and run the show. Just understanding what we ask of him — we’re not going to yell and scream at him — he can just go play and do his deal and lead the football team.”
But Jones also threw two bad interceptions on Sunday — the last one with 37 seconds to play, which ended any chance of a game-tying field goal — and self-sacked when he stepped out of bounds at the Jets’ 12-yard line for a 7-yard loss instead of throwing the ball away.
He also has struggled throwing the ball down the field. Per ESPN Research, Jones has completed 1 of 19 passes for 21 yards with five interceptions on throws of 20 or more air yards.
Jones knows he has to be better to make his case for his next team, but he doesn’t want to focus on 2025 just yet.
“Taking it one day at a time,” he said. “… That’s in the games, that’s in practice, that’s everything in between. I think that’s when I’m at my best, just going out there, having fun, slinging it around and I’m going to continue to do that.
“I think sometimes you put so much weight on a certain play in a game, and really, they’re just plays. You can’t look at it, whether it’s the first drive of the game or the last drive, you’ve just got to go out there and play and do your job. If you do your job on the play, then that’s really all you can ask for yourself.”
Two of the Jaguars’ three remaining opponents have some of the league’s best defenses. The Raiders rank 12th in total defense and ninth against the pass and Tennessee ranks second in total defense and third against the pass. The outlier is Indianapolis, which ranks 28th in total defense and 23rd against the pass. So if Jones can play well, especially against the Raiders and Titans (Dec. 29), it would make a good impression.
“I don’t even know that that necessarily needs to be said,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “Your resume is your tape…. Everybody wants to do the best. At the same time, I think guys do a great job of when you’re in-season, it’s just week-to-week. You don’t ever really pick your head up and think about what’s next or what happened. If you do that, you’re going to fall behind, and you can’t do that with the game coming up Sunday.”
Taylor is the fifth offensive coordinator Jones has had in his four seasons in the NFL, a list that includes defensive coach Matt Patricia and special teams coach Joe Judge as co-coordinators in New England in 2022. And while that isn’t exactly ideal, Taylor said it also can be a positive because it exposes Jones to different offenses, installation methods and personalities.
No matter how much longer his stay in Jacksonville lasts — three more weeks or possibly another year if he and the Jaguars are amenable to him staying as Lawrence’s backup — Jones is only concentrating on enjoying the last three games while playing for his hometown team.
“I’ve been fortunate to be here and made a lot of great friendships, coaches and players and people around the building that I’ve known for a long time, which is kind of fun,” Jones said. “So, I’m going to just finish this thing strong and hope everyone else does the same. I know they will.”
