With the Patriots on a bye this week, one thing they're definitely going to have to figure out over the next few days is who their starting quarterback is going to be when they return to the field in Week 12 against the Giants.
Mac Jones has started all 10 games this season, but he's also been benched three times, including a benching that came with under two minutes left to play during New England's 10-6 loss to the Colts in Week 10. If Bill Belichick wants to roll with Jones again, that could be an issue, because it appears the quarterback has lost the Patriots' locker room.
One team source told the Boston Herald that "at least 80% of the Patriots' locker room is out on Jones." Another team source said that a "vast majority" of Jones' teammates are done with him. No matter how you spin it, that's not a good look for Jones.
It also puts Belichick in a difficult situation. The Patriots head coach is already on the hot seat, and if he continues to play Jones and Jones continues to struggle, that will only make Belichick look worse. For his part, the Patriots coach said this week that the team hasn't decided on a starter for Week 12 just yet.
"We've got a lot of things to work on this week as a team and we'll work through those," Belichick said Tuesday. "That's what we're going to do this week."
Jones was benched against the Colts after throwing a back-breaking interception during the fourth quarter. On a second-and-12 play from Indy's 15-yard line, Jones appeared to have Mike Gesicki wide open for a touchdown, but he underthrew him and the ball ended up in the hands of Julian Blackmon.
Julian Blackmon intercepts Mac Jones at the goal line!
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
📺: #INDvsNE on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/d4RDZpceuE pic.twitter.com/K0AHBzjFwM
When the Patriots came out for their final possession of the game, Jones had been benched and Bailey Zappe was at quarterback. Zappe didn't do much better: The game ended when he threw a pick after running a fake spike play.
Jones was asked this week if he knew who the starter would be in Week 12 and seemed to genuinely have no idea.
"No, we haven't talked about that," Jones told WEEI on Tuesday. "Really just, today we watched the game film and kinda talked about the plans for the bye week."
If Jones does get benched, Rob Gronkowski threw out a wild idea this week: He said the Patriots QB should ask for his release so that he can go sign with the Browns.
At this point, it won't be surprising at all if Jones does head to the bench. The Patriots are 2-8 and don't really have anything to lose by starting Bailey Zappe. If Zappe starts winning games, then they can keep playing him, but if they lose with him, that's also not the worst thing since it will improve their draft position.
