Mac Jones' second season with the Patriots hasn't gone as planned, and it appears that some of his teammates are losing confidence in him.
Case and point, Trent Brown's Instagram page.
It was noted on Tuesday that Brown, the Patriots' starting left tackle, had liked a rather unusual post with his account. Specifically, it was an ESPN graphic in which Bill Barnwell stated that New England should pursue Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback during the 2022 NFL offseason.
Something you don't see everyday: Starting offensive tackle publicly supports replacing his current QB.#Patriots Trent Brown liked a post saying the team should replace Mac Jones with Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo. pic.twitter.com/cgaCvNIS1o
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 20, 2022
Some will note that Brown has played with both Brady and Garoppolo before, so he could just be supporting each ahead of big free-agent decisions. This could also be an indication that he would want to join Brady or Garoppolo wherever they end up — if the Patriots release him following this season.
But above all else, Brown's like would seem to indicate that he is not happy with Jones' play so far for the 7-7 Patriots.
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It's easy to understand why that frustration would rear its head now. The Patriots are coming off a loss during which they committed one of the worst plays in NFL history to allow a walk-off Raiders win.
Jones did not play well during that contest, as he completed just 13 of 31 passes for 112 yards, good for an average of 3.6 yards per attempt. It continued his trend of poor outings in 2022, and his stats show that he has been among the league's worst starting quarterbacks this season.
| Stat | Total | Rank |
| Comp. % | 65.8 | 15th |
| Passing yards | 2,310 | 23rd |
| Pass TDs | 7 | 31st |
| INTs | 8 | 13th |
| Yards per attempt | 6.9 | 22nd |
| Rating | 82.6 | 29th |
| QBR | 30.7 | 32nd |
| PFF grade | 64.3 | 29th |
Of course, it's important to note that Jones has been placed in an untenable situation. Bill Belichick installed Matt Patricia — a former defensive coordinator for the team — as Jones' top play-caller in place of Josh McDaniels while former special teams coordinator Joe Judge is his quarterbacks coach.
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On top of that, the protection in front of Jones has regressed, as the Patriots have allowed 33 sacks in 2022 compared to just 28 the previous season. Their pocket time of 2.3 seconds ranks tied for the fourth-worst mark in the league, too.
Certainly, some of the blame for that falls on Jones. He needs to show a better pocket presence and an understanding of when to release the ball to avoid pressure.
But Brown has allowed eight sacks — third-most among NFL tackles — while committing a league-high 11 penalties at the position; so, he is not blameless for the offense's struggles.
Either way, Brown's Instagram activity appears to show that tensions are boiling over within the Patriots' offense. Fans have seen that on the field in recent weeks, with Jones expressing outward frustration with Patricia's play-calling; now it manifests itself on social media.
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We'll soon see if the Patriots can figure things out as they look to make a final postseason push. But as it stands, they will probably need a big offensive overhaul during the 2023 offseason.
