Getty Image / Adam Glanzman
At times over the last year, there have been plenty of questions about the New England Patriots’ confidence in Mac Jones as their starting quarterback.
There were calls for him to be replaced by Bailey Zappe over the course of last season as he struggled during the year.
He was never actually replaced, but Bill Belichick’s refusal to publicly name him the team’s starting quarterback allowed the speculation to continue during this offseason.
Today, it seems the Patriots answered any questions that might have been out there about their confidence in Jones as their starting quarterback.
As they whittled down their roster to the 53-man squad they need to star the season, they made a couple of important decisions at QB.
The first was, that they decided to waive Bailey Zappe according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
The #Patriots have waived backup QB Bailey Zappe, source said. A surprise.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2023
The second decision was that they will also be waiving Malik Cunningham according The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
The Patriots have also waived Malik Cunningham, per source. @theathletic
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 29, 2023
Not only do these two moves guarantee that Mac Jones will be the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots this season, but they also make him the only quarterback currently on their roster.
The Patriots obviously aren’t going to head into the season without somebody backing up Mac Jones and it could even end up being one of the two guys they released today, but this still isn’t a move you make if you’re even slightly concerned about your starting QB.
Even if the Patriots decide that they want somebody new to back Jones up, we could potentially see Malik Cunningham end up on their practice squad before the start of the year.
Whatever they end up doing at the backup quarterback position, it seems the New England Patriots just can’t get through an offseason without doing something unusual these days.