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As the New England Patriots reached a new low in quarterback play, head coach Bill Belichick expressed openness to looking elsewhere soon.
The Patriots (2-9) mustered only seven points or fewer for the fourth time this season in their 10-7 loss to the New York Giants in Week 12. Patriots quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe combined for 21-of-35 passing for 136 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
“I don’t really see that right now, but I mean, I wouldn’t rule anything out, anything that would help our team,” Belichick told reporters during a press conference on Monday, November 27. “We’ve brought in players at any position. You never know what’s going to happen.”
“If I think there’s somebody, if our pro scouting department thinks there is somebody that would help us, we’ll certainly listen to it and take a look at it, at any position,” Belichick added. “It’s not really about the quarterback position. It would really be any position. I don’t know. Nobody that comes to mind, but we’ll see.”
Patriots Have Few Viable QB Options In-House & Beyond
New England already waived backup quarterback Will Grier last week, and the only other option on the roster or practice squad remains rookie Malik Cunningham. He split time at receiver and quarterback in practices and preseason games, but he hasn’t taken quarterback snaps since October.
Neither of the Patriots’ top two quarterbacks have shown signs of turning things around. Jones posted his lowest quarterback rating of the season, 27.8, and he threw for 2 interceptions in a game for the third time this year. Zappe completed a season-high 64.3% of his passes on Sunday, but he has led only one scoring drive all season.
There’s not much a 2-9 squad can do to convince a free agent quarterback that he should come play for the Patriots. That’s especially the case with two AFC playoff contenders Cincinnati and Cleveland not nabbing bigger-name free agents amid major injuries in the past two weeks.
Bill Belichick: ‘Yeah, That’s Ridiculous’
While many have predicted the end of Belichick’s run with the Patriots in recent weeks, the head coach isn’t looking ahead to next year. He shot down a question about picking a new team for 2024 during his November 27 appearance on “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI.
“Yeah, that’s ridiculous,” Belichick told the hosts after he paused.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft had been adamant about getting the team back to winning this year, which hasn’t happened. It only stoked the rumors that Belichick might not make it through the season despite his previous two decades of success (including six Super Bowl wins) with the franchise.
If Belichick stays on in 2024, he could be rebuilding with a top-five draft pick. Otherwise, the Patriots could go in a different direction for a coach and general manager to commence a massive rebuild.
Bill Belichick Said He Still Enjoys Coaching the Patriots
As New England faces its worst season since before Drew Bledsoe got drafted No. 1 in 1993, Belichick said he enjoys coaching the Patriots as much as ever.
“Every week’s a challenge, and I’m excited about the challenge, the opportunity, and what we have to do to win each week. I’ll keep working as hard as I can to help our team,” Belichick said during Sunday’s press conference.
Belichick’s next challenge consists of a Los Angeles Chargers team (4-7) in desperate need of a win in Week 13.
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