The Jacksonville Jaguars are sending a sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for quarterback Mac Jones, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning that the Jacksonville Jaguars are finalizing a trade for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. The Jaguars gave up a sixth-round pick.

The trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins on Wednesday, March 13th, and Jones must pass a physical for the deal to go through.

CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones said the Jaguars were the only team to put in an offer as of Saturday, though NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that “four teams were in the mix” for Jones.

Once the trade becomes official, Jones will return to his hometown of Jacksonville. He was born in the city and won a state championship as a senior at Bolles, a private school located in the San Jose neighborhood on the St. Johns River.

Jones was ranked as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and originally committed to Kentucky before flipping to Alabama. He was likely on a path to becoming a post-graduate coaching assistant, but an injury to Tua Tagovailoa in 2019 opened the door for Jones to start four games.

When Tagovailoa left for the league the following year, Jones became the starting quarterback. With help from offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, Jones led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national championship season and set single-season NCAA records for completion percentage (77.4%) and passer rating (203.1).

The Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence first overall in 2021. Jones was selected 14 slots later. He beat out Cam Newton for the starting gig in New England to become the team’s second Week 1 starter at quarterback since Tom Brady’s departure.

Jones finished his first season as the most productive passer in his class, which helped him earn a Pro Bowl nod as an alternate and finish second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind only Ja’Marr Chase.

In 2022, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become the Las Vegas Raiders head coach. New England hired former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as play caller and former special teams coordinator Joe Judge as quarterbacks coach.

Those hires marked the beginning of the end of Jones’ career in Foxborough. He was benched multiple times over the next few seasons for 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe. Jones was 10-7 as a rookie starter with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions; over the next two seasons, he was 8-17 as a starter with 24 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

New England currently holds the third-overall pick in the 2024 draft and has a rumored obsession with Jayden Daniels out of LSU. Rapoport reported Friday that the Patriots “appear open to trading QB Mac Jones and teams have been calling them and doing work on the former starter.”

On the surface, giving up a sixth-round pick for a recent first-round quarterback is good business, especially considering the myriad of injuries Lawrence sustained last season. And Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson knows the importance of backup passers, considering his perspective in that role as a player and then his experience winning a Super Bowl with Nick Foles.

During his year off of coaching, Pederson wrote an article for The 33rd Team in which he preached the importance of building a full quarterback room. “Placing a young guy behind a veteran quarterback is so important — it gives the young player time to develop and grow while the right pieces are placed around him.”

With all that said, the Jaguars should have focused on a different name. The ‘coming home’ storyline is sweet but Jones was arrested for a DUI in 2017 and was the model of poor body language in New England.

Though he was drafted 15th overall, Jones does not possess anything close to the physical attributes of Lawrence, Trey Lance (drafted third overall), or Justin Fields (drafted 11th overall). Lance was acquired by the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick last offseason despite having four career starts under his belt; Fields is currently rumored to fetch a third-rounder or so with the Chicago Bears poised to select Caleb Williams first overall in April.

And now the Jaguars will be paying a sixth-rounder for the right to the final year of Jones’ rookie contract. He may be better than any Day 3 prospect available in the upcoming draft, but there are also plenty of viable veterans on the free agent market who would’ve been an upgrade over incumbent backup C.J. Beathard: Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, Josh Dobbs, even Gardner Minshew.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that part of the motivation to make this trade “is that C.J. Beathard has been banged up.” The point remains -- Jacksonville could have found a better option.