The New England Patriots are having one of the worst seasons most fans can really ever remember. The 2023 season has been filled with horrendous offense, rumors of Bill Belichick looking to move on after the season, friction in the locker room, and much more.
For the first time in a really long time, are the New England Patriots an abject disaster? It really feels that way. With that being said, it's not overly difficult to project a handful of players who are undoubtedly not going to be in the team's plans for 2024.
Which Patriots players are basically playing the second half of this season with one foot out the proverbial door? Let's take a look at five.
5 New England Patriots players playing their way out of 2024 script
1. Ezekiel Elliott, RB
The New England Patriots obviously thought that bringing in Ezekiel Elliott was going to yield much better returns in 2023 than it has so far. And frankly, given the timing of the signing and given Elliott's history in the NFL, this was a pretty worthwhile chance to take.
But through 10 games, I think it's clear that if Zeke keeps playing the way he has, he won't be in the Patriots' 2024 plans at all. Maybe not many other teams' plans, either.
Elliott is averaging 3.8 yards per carry on 86 carries with a pair of touchdowns, but he already has five games in which he averaged less than three yards per carry. That's simply not sustainable, even though he's coming off of a performance against the Colts in which he had 88 yards from scrimmage on 15 total touches.
2. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
Through his first eight games with the team, it's clear that free agent signing JuJu Smith-Schuster is one of the Patriots' bigger free agent busts in recent franchise history. Smith-Schuster parlayed a Super Bowl win with the Chiefs last year into a three-year, $25.5 million deal with the Patriots worth a pretty hefty $16 million in guaranteed money.
With 22 receptions for an astonishingly low 149 yards and one touchdown so far, Smith-Schuster has played at worse than replacement level, and certainly not at the WR2 level his contract indicates he should be.
The Patriots' offense, as a whole, has been a disaster this season, but Smith-Schuster has played a role in that more so than been a victim. There is more than $12 million in dead cap for the Patriots to flat-out cut Smith-Schuster next year, but they might have to come to some sort of revised contract or move on from him regardless.
3. Tyquan Thornton, WR
The New England Patriots invested the 50th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in former Baylor star Tyquan Thornton, and to say he's been a disappointment thus far would be an understatement.
Thornton has just three catches this season, but to his credit, that's an average of one catch per game. He did have 22 receptions in his rookie year with a pair of touchdowns among them, but Thornton's development has been far too slow for the Patriots to really make him a focal point of their 2024 plans.
4. Mac Jones, QB
The decline of Mac Jones from 2021 to today has been nothing short of staggering. Remember when Mac Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, and some people were saying he should have been a top-five pick in that year's NFL Draft?
Jones is currently on pace to have the worst season of his professional career. His touchdown percentage (3.1 percent) is the lowest it's been in three seasons. His interception percentage (3.1 percent) is the highest it's been since he got into the NFL.
I don't know at this point if a change of scenery is going to do it for Mac Jones, but maybe. He has been horrible, but so has the supporting cast. It might just be way beyond the point of salvaging Jones's career as a member of the Patriots. I think he will be changing teams in 2024 almost certainly.
5. JC Jackson, CB
The New England Patriots let JC Jackson leave in 2022 free agency, and the Los Angeles Chargers signed him to a massive deal worth nearly $90 million in total money, and moved on from him shortly into his second year with the team.
There are some off-field, personal issues going on at the moment with JC Jackson, but the Patriots acquired him in spite of those things and are now dealing with the consequences of it. Hopefully, Jackson is able to get the help he needs, but it is safe to say that the ball-hawking cornerback has played his way out of the team's 2024 plans.
In other Patriots news: