Earlier this week, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick refused to give any energy to a possible quarterback controversy on the team.
“We’ll see what it looks like today and go from there,” Belichick told reporters.
He may have tried to avoid it, but the writing seems to be on the wall.
Mac Jones has been out since Week 3 due to an ankle injury, and rookie Bailey Zappe has been filling in and so far has completed 75.0 percent of his passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport addressed the Patriots’ quarterback situation and wouldn’t rule out a potential quarterback change.
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“I believe Mac Jones is the starter, but he had a couple of rough games and tried to do a little too much,” Rapoport said. “Belichick is never going to get ahead of himself, so he’s never going to address it until he has to. He wants to judge the whole product. But let’s say Bailey Zappe goes out and wins this week and looks really good, it’s gonna get interesting. I think Mac Jones is the starter but it’s not a slam dunk.”
The swelling in Jones’ ankle has “decreased,” and if he does play in Week 6, he’ll still be dealing with some instability that “could be managed in a variety of different ways,” the NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reported.
Mac Jones has 786 passing yards, two passing touchdowns (plus one rushing), and five interceptions through three games this season.
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