I mean, sure, regardless of logistics or rostering, the idea is compelling. Jackson, if healthy, could be the most colorful player in the league. He’s just 26, has a 45-16 record as a starter (QB wins are a dubious measure, but a .738 win ratio counts for something) and he won the 2019 Most Valuable Player award when he won the league led in touchdown passes (36 in just 6 interceptions), threw for 3,127 yards and rushed for another 1,206 yards and 7 touchdowns.
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He was nearly unstoppable, as the Patriots found out in Week 9 of this season. In the Ravens’ 37-20 win, Jackson completed 17 of 23 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, ran another 73 yards and two points, and almost single-handedly inflicted the Patriots’ first loss after an 8-0 start.
Who wouldn’t want a player like that?
Well, this question comes with a complicated answer. Partly due to injuries, which are hardly surprising given his style of play, Jackson hasn’t quite been that player since. He’s had fewer touchdown passes (33) in the 24 games he’s played over the past two seasons than he did in that fabulous MVP season. He missed the last five games plus the playoff loss to the Bengals this season with a knee injury. One can wonder if we’ve seen the best of him yet.
But that’s not the main reason the Patriots should stay away. You can’t afford the cost, plural. Jackson is looking for a new contract, and the parameters need to be close to the Browns’ shameful Deshaun Watson deal (five years, $230 million fully guaranteed with a $44.965 million signing bonus) and the already regrettable Kyler Murray -Cardinals renewal (five years, $230.5 million, beginning in 2024).
Additionally, they absolutely cannot sacrifice the design capital that would be required to acquire Jackson. Consider: The Broncos traded their first-round picks of 2022 and 2023, second-round picks of 2022 and 23, a fifth-round pick of 22, and tight end Noah Fant, quarterback Drew Lock and defensive end Shelby Harris to the Seahawks last March for now 34-year-old quarterback Russell Wilson and a 22-rounder.
And the Browns — the idiot Browns — sent the Texans three first-round picks (2022, 23, 24), a 23-round third-rounder, and a fourth 24 for Watson (who was accused by more than two dozen). women with sexual misconduct) and a 24-year-old fifth grader.
Now imagine what the asking price for Jackson would be. The Patriots have too many holes in their roster to pay that much salary and draft picks for a quarterback right now.
▪ It makes no sense for the Patriots to bring Tom Brady back.
It’s a nice feeling, sure, and a sweet little opportunity to graduate. But there’s about an even chance of Tom Tupa returning to the Patriots as quarterback, and he’s 56 years old and switched to punting decades ago.
Brady turns 46 next season. He’s probably in, oh, his last decade as an NFL quarterback — alright, well, he’s probably got two years at most. (It was impossible to ignore the lack of speed in some of his fastballs in the playoff loss to Dallas.)
He’s looking to increase the Lombardi Trophy tally, and even if all the fences are fixed with Bill Belichick, there’s still some way to go before the Patriots are a contender again. (Can you imagine how much Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and Jonnu Smith would have infuriated Brady this season?)
This was the best match of player, coach and franchise in NFL history for a few decades. It’s not now. Plus, it would be a cruel turn of events if Brady returned here for one last try, only to have it be the year his skills finally eroded to the point of incompetence.
I hope he becomes a 49er and plays for his youth team in front of his family. That’s where everything actually started for him, and that’s where it should end.
▪ It makes sense that the Patriots would stick with Mac Jones.
Jones has had a promising rookie season – are you really going to make me cite his Pro Bowl performance again? – to a total debacle of a second year for one reason more than any other: the coaching staff failed him.
Belichick trusted Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, two valuable members of his coaching staff in the past, to oversee the offense. They proved amazingly inept, to the point that angered Jones on his good days went from a crucial advantage to a question mark. The Patriots owe him — yes, owe him — a third season to see if he can build on what he was as a rookie.
The Patriots don’t need a new quarterback just yet. You need to hit the No. 14 overall, put together another strong draft, and hire an offensive coordinator who, as you know, can coordinate an offensive. Do these things and then the real answers about Jones will be revealed.
Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.