The New England Patriots reportedly have interesting plans for struggling quarterback Mac Jones, following another frustrating loss in Week 10.
Speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show” (h/t Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report), Patriots insider Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported that Jones will “probably” move down to the third-string QB spot behind Bailey Zappe and Will Grier:
“Mac Jones is going to almost certainly sit. I think he’ll probably be dropped down to third-string. You’re gonna elevate Will Grier and you’re gonna elevate the player that took the final snaps the other day…Bailey Zappe.
“If I was a betting man, and I don’t have any intel on this, but Will Grier gets the reps to be the starter, and if he fails in that, then Zappe would start and Grier would be No. 2 and you proceed through the end of the year and try to maintain the culture.”
Head coach Bill Belichick benched Jones in favor of Zappe for the Pats’ final drive in Sunday’s Week 10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. This came after Jones threw a costly red zone interception with just over four minutes to go.
The switch did nothing, however, as Zappe threw a game-sealing interception after a fake spike play. The loss dropped New England to 2-8 on the year.
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Jones followed up a promising 2021 rookie campaign with a frustrating 2022 season, though many blamed Belichick for making Matt Patricia (with a defensive background) and Joe Judge (a special teams background) the offensive play-callers.
Belichick cut Jones a break by bringing back old friend Bill O’Brien as the offensive coordinator. Belichick also signed speedy wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott in free agency.
And yet, Jones’ play has inexplicably worsened this season. The 25-year-old has just 2,031 passing yards and 10 touchdowns against as many interceptions, and he’s already taken 21 sacks in 10 contests.
With New England on a bye week, Belichick has considerable time to make a decision on his starter for Week 11 against the New York Giants.
