Scott Zolak: I wouldn’t assume Mac Jones is going to start again
After watching Mac Jones get benched once again in Germany, Scott Zolak says don’t assume he’ll start again for the Patriots.
Feeling pretty good we don’t see him as QB1 again…
Marc Bertrand: We’re not going to see Mac Jones again. We don’t have to watch that anymore.
Scott Zolak: You sure?
Marc Bertrand: Yep. I’m feeling pretty good about that one.
Scott Zolak: I am too.
Marc Bertrand: I’m feeling pretty good that we’re not going to see that guy again. That he is going to the backup role unless someone gets hurt.
Scott Zolak: I mean, he seemed pretty resigned to it, too. Postgame he was a little emotional. You could hear cracking a little bit in his voice.
Hardy: I thought I heard that, too.
Marc Bertrand: He’s at his wits end. He’s at his wits end right now. And that’s what it is, like defeated.
Hardy: Well, it was the realization that yeah, he’s probably…
Scott Zolak: Lost the team.
Hardy: Lost the team, lost his job, at least for this season or for the next handful of games, whatever. And I’m sure we’ll talk about this later on today. But the decision to pull them when they did. There were people second guessing that last night.
Marc Bertrand: Oh, no. It was great. Love it.
Hardy: What about (Bailey) Zappe? I’ll just play devil’s advocate here. Is it fair to Zappe to put him in that situation?
Marc Bertrand: I mean fair? What’s fair? I’m sorry, but backup quarterbacks, no offense Zo, don’t get like the benefit of fairness. Their whole job is to be thrown into a game on 10 seconds notice. That’s how it works.
Hardy: As Greg Bedard said last night during the postgame, I don’t mean this in a mean way. I don’t care. I don’t care about putting Bailey Zappe in a bad position. He’s the backup.
Scott Zolak: It was more of a message to the number one guy.
Marc Bertrand: It was about no ambiguity heading into the bye. You’re not the starter anymore, Mac. Sit down.
Nov 12, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) is forced out of bounds by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore (95) in the third quarter during an International Series game at Deutsche Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
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Where do the Patriots go from here at quarterback?
Mac Jones
Nov 12, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) looks on during a time out against the Indianapolis Colts in the second quarter during an International Series game at Deutsche Bank Park. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
On one hand, it feels like if the Patriots haven’t made the official starting QB change yet, they’re not going to. We know Belichick will stick with a starting quarterback for the duration of a season despite struggles, as he did with Cam Newton on 2020.
At the same time, the circumstances of Jones’ benching this week are jarring. The Patriots needed the game won on that drive, and they made the decision to pull Jones in that spot. It also comes as his mechanics and decision-making have visibly regressed.
Asked after the game if he still has faith in Jones as his starting quarterback, Belichick replied, “I have faith in all our players.”
Jones himself was also asked if he believes Belichick still is confident in his standing as the team’s starter. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to play better,” he replied. “To make people believe, you’ve got to be better. I’m not sure. I don’t know.”
Despite that external doubt, Jones said he still believes in himself. “Yeah, I do I put a lot of work into it. I’ve got a lot of faith in myself. But there’s just things that got to get fixed, and just learn. Just keep learning and figure it out.”
If the Patriots still believe Jones, their first-round pick less than three years ago, is the future of the franchise, it’d be hard to turn away from him. But if they’ve determined he’s not ‘the guy,’ now makes as much sense as any time to move on.
Bailey Zappe
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 12: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots looks to pass in the fourth quarter during the NFL match between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots at Deutsche Bank Park on November 12, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
If the Patriots are going to bench Jones, Zappe is the logical next man up. He filled in while Jones was hurt last year, and has been the backup for most of this year’s game as well.
So why haven’t they turned to him yet with Jones struggled? It’s been reported throughout the season that the Patriots didn’t believe Zappe gave them a better chance to win than Jones. The 2022 fourth-round pick struggled for most of training camp, and the two mop-up spots he got in blowouts early in the season. He may have had a chance to prove otherwise on Sunday, but ended up throwing the interception.
Despite his own struggles, Zappe said he’s confident he could take over the Patriots’ offense if called upon. “100 percent” he replied when asked that question after Sunday’s game.
Simply benching Jones for the sake of benching him would likely mean Zappe takes over. At the same time though, if the Patriots are looking for a quarterback to outright ‘win’ the job, it’s tough to say Zappe has done that.
Will Grier
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 24: Will Grier #19 of the New England Patriots warms up prior to a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The Patriots’ revolving door of third quarterbacks seems to have come to a close with Grier, who was signed off of the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad in mid-September. He’ll be entering his eight week with the team this week, and to this point has been the inactive ’emergency third quarterback’ for most of his games.
A third-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2019, a coaching change led to him being an odd man out on that roster to start the 2021 season, and he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys. Grier bounced between the Dallas active roster and practice squad before being waived prior to final roster cuts this year.
His only regular season NFL game experience came in 2019, when he started two games for the Panthers. He went 0-2, completing 53.8 percent of his 52 pass attempts for 228 yards, with no touchdowns and four interceptions.
Grier would give the Patriots a fresh face and fresh voice at the position. He has a big arm, and brings more athleticism than Jones or Zappe. But is he ready for a starting role, in terms of his familiarity with the Patriots’ offense?
Belichick’s last real comments on Grier came on Oct. 13. While complimentary, he noted how tough it can be to get a new quarterback integrated in-season.
“The opportunities he’s had, he’s done well with,” Belichick said at the time. “It’s hard to get that position a lot of reps. He’s a smart kid, throws the ball well, he’s got a good arm. He’s learned things, picked up things, so we’ll see. Just kind of keep going here, keep feeding him as much as we can. But, there’s only so many snaps out there. Obviously, everybody needs them.”
That was a month ago, so it stands to reason that Grier is more comfortable with the Patriots’ offense now than he was then. Comfortable enough? That is part of the question it’s tough to answer from the outside. But if the Patriots really are going to open up the quarterback competition, and have a week off before having to prepare for their next opponent, the team now has more flexibility to expand his involvement and prepare him for a potential in-game role – either as the new starter or even as the active backup.
Malik Cunningham
Aug. 10, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots quarterback Malik Cunningham (16) against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Since the summer, it’s been clear that while he’s listed as a quarterback on the roster the Patriots’ long-term plan for Cunningham – a UDFA dual-threat quarterback from Louisville who is currently on the team’s practice squad – is to develop him at wide receiver. At the same time, they’ve used him as a package quarterback going back to the preseason.
Undoubtably, Cunningham would add an athletic element to the Patriots’ offense that they’re lacking not only at quarterback, but offensively as a whole. He’d step in and right away be one of their most dynamic ball-carriers.
To make that change though, the Patriots would have to be comfortable with his development as a passer. There’d also be a question about how extensive their playbook is to suit his play style, which doesn’t have much overlap with Jones or Zappe.
Back in mid-October, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was very complimentary of Cunningham. “He’s probably one of the most improved practice squad players that we have,” O’Brien said at the time. “Malik did a good job in the preseason. Malik works very hard.”
That same week, Belichick spoke highly of the rookie UDFA as well. “Malik’s really worked hard and made a lot of improvement,” he said. “He’s a smart kid, works hard, and the opportunities he’s had, he’s shown a lot of improvement. It’s a little too early for an induction ceremony here, but definitely a lot of improvement.”
At the same time, both coaches noted that improvement is at a number of different spots, not just quarterback.
“He never really played in the kicking game at Louisville, so he’s started to show up there,” Belichick noted in that same October press conference. “Never played receiver – didn’t look very good either, in the spring, but he’s really improved there. He can catch the ball, but just route running and finding zones and things like that. But, it’s come pretty naturally to him. He plays a good amount of quarterback. He’s competent there.”
“He does a good job on the practice squad, plays a lot of receiver,” O’Brien said that same week. “He played some quarterback last week with mimicking Taysom Hill. But yeah, he does a really good job, and he’s continued to improve.”
Since those comments the Patriots added Cunningham to the active roster, only to waive him the next week and re-sign him to the practice squad. If they thought at the time there was a chance he’d be taking over at quarterback, they likely wouldn’t have subjected him to waivers. At the same time if they believe he can continue to progress quicky, they certainly could have him take part in an open QB competition.
