Getty Image / Michael Owens
Could we be looking at another quarterback controversy for the New England Patriots?
We’ve already seen one this season with some fans wondering if Bailey Zappe would be sent back to the bench after a few successful games as the team’s starter.
Bill Belichick wouldn’t say much about the situation at the time, but did turn the ball back over to Mac Jones when he was healthy.
Now Belichick is being asked about his starting quarterback situation again. Mac Jones played poorly in a heartbreaking loss to the Raiders after weeks of struggling to put points on the board.
Belichick refused to commit when asked if he plans to start Mac Jones this weekend.
"The plan is to try to beat Cincinnati."
Bill Belichick when asked if he plans to stick with Mac Jones at QB for the rest of the season 🤔 pic.twitter.com/6LspzlouIs
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) December 21, 2022
Maybe he shouldn’t commit to continuing to start Jones.
Has Mac Joes been given all of the pieces necessary to succeed as an NFL quarterback? No. The Patriots really made things tough on him this year with their decision to let Matt Patricia and Joe Judge lead the offense instead of hiring an actual offensive coordinator.
He also hasn’t had the most dependable targets outside of Jakobi Meyers. Tyquan Thornton was injured for the early portions of the season and is still developing in his rookie year. Devante Parker hasn’t made much of an impact. Jonnu Smith has been a non-factor despite his hefty contract. Hunter Henry has also been disappointing and expensive.
Despite all of that, Mac Jones should be better than what we’ve seen from him this season.
Jones has yet to have a truly impressive outing this season and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns on the year. This weekend, he was especially bad.
Playing against a bad Las Vegas Raiders defense, Jones completed just 41.9% of his passes for 112 yards.
That performance should get the Patriots to at least consider returning Bailey Zappe to the starting lineup. He may not be their answer at quarterback, but they should at least give themselves the chance to find out for sure.
Zappe had his moments during his stint as the team’s starter. He threw for 5 touchdowns in his 4 appearances, which is just 2 less than Jones has thrown in 10 games this season. He also picked up a pair of wins as the starter.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Patriots spent a first round pick on Mac Jones, but at some he’s going to need to start justifying that pick again or they’ll have to start considering their options at the position.