The New England Patriots have sent mixed signals about the quarterback position after some major struggles on the part of Mac Jones as a sophomore last season.
Head coach Bill Belichick has been given opportunity after opportunity to throw his support behind Jones throughout the offseason. He’s declined to do that at every turn.
But with the 2023 NFL Draft less than two weeks away and external options at quarterback dwindling, it now seems like Jones will be New England’s Week 1 starter.
“Barring something unforeseen, Jones will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback in Week 1. The Patriots likely have gone too far into the offseason to make a change at the game’s most important position,” Chad Graff of the Athletic on New England Patriots’ quarterback situation.
In what can’t be considered too much of a surprise, Graff also made it clear that New England is not in on unhappy Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. There is also no reason to believe that the team will use an early-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on a signal caller.
Related: 2023 New England Patriots mock draft
Relying on Mac Jones could be foolish for the New England Patriots
We know full well how Belichick handles the media. He’s not going to provide substantive answers to questions. It’s been the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach’s MO since he joined New England back in 2000. That has not changed as Belichick prepares for his 24th season as the Pats’ head coach.
“Everybody will get a chance to play. We’ll play the best players. Everybody that’s on our roster, if they earn the opportunity to play, then based on what they do in practice and all that, then they’ll get an opportunity to play,” Belichick on Patriots’ quarterback situation back in March.
Internally, there are some within the Patriots’ organization who don’t believe there is much of a difference between Jones and 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe. After the regression we saw from Jones last season, this isn’t terribly surprising.
| Year | Comp | Att | Comp% | Yards | TD | INT | QB rating |
| 2021 | 352 | 521 | 67.6 | 3,801 | 22 | 13 | 92.5 |
| 2022 | 288 | 442 | 6.2 | 2,997 | 14 | 11 | 89.0 |
Typically, quarterbacks improve as sophomores. The fact that Jones saw a regression in nearly every major statistical category has to be seen as a red flag.
It had led to rumors earlier in the offseason that the Patriots were open to trading Jones. However, the lack of external options makes this increasingly less likely.
The likelier scenario is that Jones heads into training camp actually battling for the QB1 job with Zappe. The latter performed pretty well in limited action as a rookie this past season. We also know that Belichick likes to provide that competition in camp.
Though, it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the New England Patriots added yet another young quarterback late in the 2023 NFL Draft next week. Some names that come to mind include Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA), Clayton Tune (Houston) and Jaren Hall (BYU).