Could Dolphins trade for Mac Jones? McCourty ponders possibility originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Mac Jones appears to be loving life in Jacksonville. But could Florida’s other AFC team have a more immediate need for his services?
The Miami Dolphins are rolling with Skylar Thompson as their starting quarterback in Week 3 after Tua Tagovailoa suffered a scary-looking concussion in last Thursday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. Miami recently signed Tyler Huntley off the Baltimore Ravens‘ practice squad, but neither Thompson nor Huntley seem like viable long-term options with Tagovailoa headed to injured reserve and expected to miss at least the next four weeks.
That’s where Jones could come in — at least if you ask his former New England Patriots teammate Devin McCourty.
McCourty joined Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio on Tuesday’s episode of PFT Live to list current NFL quarterbacks who could use a “draft mulligan” — i.e., they would have benefited from being drafted by a different team. McCourty’s first pick was Jones, who enjoyed a strong rookie season in New England but flamed out in 2022 and 2023 amid rampant offensive dysfunction before the Patriots traded him to Jacksonville this past offseason.
While discussing Jones, McCourty threw out the possibility of the Dolphins trading for Jones, noting that Miami and the San Francisco 49ers both were linked to the Alabama product at some point.
“Maybe Miami calls him and he gets traded to Miami — Miami, San Francisco, a lot of teams that have been thrown out as places he possibly could have (gone),” McCourty said. “I know Mac would love to do the (2021) draft over again.”
The 49ers’ interest in Jones prior to the 2021 NFL Draft is well-documented, as head coach Kyle Shanahan seriously pondered taking Jones instead of Trey Lance. But the Dolphins have a connection to Jones as well; amid Tagovailoa’s struggles during the 2021 season, then-head coach Brian Flores reportedly told Tagovailoa to his face that he wished the team had drafted Jones to replace him.
Flores obviously is long gone, but Miami — with its dynamic playmakers like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane and a creative play-caller in Mike McDaniel — does seem like an environment where Jones could succeed. In fact, our Tom E. Curran argued last season that Tagovailoa and Jones are “virtually interchangeable” in terms of their skill sets, and that Jones could thrive playing the role of Dolphins “point guard” like he did on a loaded Alabama team in college.
The question, of course, is whether the Jaguars would want to part with Jones, who is one Trevor Lawrence injury away from starting in Jacksonville. Lawrence and Jones are the only QBs on the Jaguars’ active roster, so they probably wouldn’t want to deal Jones without adding another viable backup.
But would the Dolphins be desperate enough for a QB upgrade that they make Jacksonville a compelling offer? It’s a situation at least worth monitoring until Miami clarifies its long-term plan at the position.
