You may have your own opinion on whether the New England Patriots have an open competition at quarterback, but what are Bill Belichick’s thoughts on the matter?
As you might expect, it’s necessary to read between the lines on Belichick’s comments, but the mere fact that he didn’t commit to Mac Jones as the Patriots’ starting quarterback suggests that the door is open at the position.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The question is how open. Right now, at best, it would be slightly ajar.
“Everybody is out here competing, all 90 guys,” Belichick said. “That’s what we’re all here for is to go out and compete.”
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds a morning press conference before 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Belichick wasn’t quite as talkative about the same question(s) as he was on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Pat Kirwan, but in neither comment did he say anything close to, “Mac’s our quarterback and that’s that.”
Nor does he have to commit to Jones as his starting quarterback. But it’s an indication that Belichick at least wants to create the illusion of a QB competition.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones looks to make a pass during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
It just doesn’t appear that way based on reps in practice. Jones has taken all the snaps with the “1’s” so far in 2023 training camp in Foxboro. Zappe, meanwhile, has almost entirely repped with the 2’s, save for snaps here and there with projected starters mixing in at wide receiver, tight end, and running back.
Both quarterbacks have started to make more plays in team drills in recent days, including Sunday when both the 1’s and 2’s had their best practice in maybe a full calendar year.
New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Zappe has looked good in his own right, and he’s arguably looked better than Jones on throws to the back corner of the end zone. He had impressive connections with wide receivers Tyquan Thornton and Jalen Hurd in that area on Sunday. He said after practice he’s “about 100 percent more” comfortable than his rookie year.
“Just speaking from a defensive standpoint, being able to see defenses pre- and post-snap has been the biggest thing for me,” Zappe said. “And I think that translates to meeting with both Bills, watching more film, kind of just diving into the playbook and everything. It’s kind of slowed the game down for me.”
New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe makes his way to the practice fields for 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Despite Zappe’s strong Sunday, Jones was just as good, has been repping with the starters the whole time, and has stacked more good days than Zappe has on the whole. On Tuesday, Jones had one of his best practices of the off-season.
He led off 11-on-11 with a well-placed intermediate pass to DeVante Parker down the left sideline against rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez. He bookended with a “touchdown” pass to Hunter Henry over the middle in the back of the end zone during a late red zone period. He also completed passes to running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Kevin Harris, and tight end Matt Sokol.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones drops back to pass during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Two incompletions by Jones in 11-on-11 were more the fault of the pass-catcher. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was nearly jumped for an interception by Marcus Jones. Parker, meanwhile, had a potential touchdown broken up by Jack Jones on a short pass over the middle.
In both cases, I’d say the receivers need to fight more for the ball. They were both catchable, and the cornerbacks looked more motivated to make the play. Jones’ third incompletion, a leaping pass breakup by Mack Wilson Sr., looked like he could’ve put a little more air under the ball.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
But overall, Jones has been better than Zappe at getting rid of the ball quickly and avoiding “sacks” in team drills. Their performance under duress has been hard to gauge with only one practice in full pads and a light practice at that. But Zappe has noticeably held the ball longer, while Jones has appeared to process his reads quicker.
And, as we can’t stress enough, Jones has been practicing with the starting offensive line and the first pass-catching group throughout camp. Zappe has practiced exclusively with the second group on the offensive line and almost exclusively backup pass-catchers, save for Parker, Gesicki, and Kendrick Bourne rotating in for a few snaps on Tuesday.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass at minicamp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
That’s an important distinction from Jones’ rookie season in 2021, the last time we saw a real QB competition in Foxboro. Jones did at least work directly with the 1’s during team drills in camp. Cam Newton was first in line and got the majority of the reps, but Jones wasn’t going in blind after being named the starter.
If Zappe were named the starter on Tuesday, it would be surprising, because he hasn’t worked at all with the first group. So, we need to see Zappe actually practice with the 1’s before we become true believers in a competition.
New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe (4) throws a pass during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The biggest reason to hold onto the idea of a competition, besides Belichick leaving the door open for it, is that the two players are close from a physical standpoint. It’s not your typical starter/backup dynamic.
Zappe’s only clear disadvantage against Jones is his struggles with batted passes at the line of scrimmage. The arm talent is relatively close. Jones is and has been a little more mobile in the pocket, but neither QB is going to be mistaken for Lamar Jackson.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass at minicamp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
So, I wouldn’t object to seeing how the offense looks with Zappe and the 1’s. Belichick hasn’t been inclined to do so, through six days of camp. Jones has ostensibly done enough to hold Zappe off from that.
Maybe that’s the way Belichick likes it. Don’t promise anything to Jones. Keep him working as if he needs to keep Zappe at bay. As long as Jones keeps getting all the starter reps, he’s going to do exactly that.
Jul 27, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick heads to the podium for a morning press conference before training camp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Belichick probably just doesn’t want Jones to know that. Or any of us. So if you want the Pats to have a QB competition, just believe it in your mind, even if it’s not presenting itself in the real, physical world. Because that probably is what Belichick wants.
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