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New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones cannot sit comfortably when it comes to the starting job as head coach Bill Belichick sees it.
“We’ll see how those guys do when the real football starts, pads come on, there’s a little more pass rush and so forth, but they can all run the offense efficiently,” Belichick told SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan as transcribed by NESN. “They’re all smart. They all handle what we do so that everybody else can operate efficiently. So, we’ll give them a chance to compete and see how it goes.”
Patriots backup quarterback Bailey Zappe impressed as a rookie in 2022 amid a 2-0 record and 70% completion rate. Jones, the Patriots’ No. 15 NFL draft pick in 2021, regressed in 2022 with 14 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.
Zappe competing with Jones looked inevitable until offseason workouts in June, but as Belichick noted in his Monday, July 30, appearance, training camp just started. The Patriots had their first practice in pads on Monday, and the team doesn’t play a preseason game until August 10 against the Houston Texans.
Bill Belichick Sees Positives in all 3 Patriots QBs
Belichick likes what he sees in all three Patriots quarterbacks thus far through the offseason and first week of training camp. Besides Jones and Zappe, the Patriots added veteran backup Trace McSorley to the roster.
“Mac had a good offseason,” Belichick said via NESN “He’s one of our offseason award winners — first in, last out of the building. Really does a good job of being on top of everything we’re doing so he can lead from the quarterback position in terms of play-calling and those types of things.”
“Zappe is way ahead of where he was last year, obviously, rookie going into his second year. And it’s been good to work with McSorley. He has a little bit of game experience, a little bit of NFL experience, but is still a young player,” Belichick added.
Mac Jones on Bill Belichick: ‘I Think We’re Good’
Much was made of friction between Jones and Belichick during the 2022 season followed by the offseason. Jones dismissed any notion of that when he talked with the media on July 26.
“No, I think we’re good,” Jones told reporters. “I think the biggest thing that we’ve all talked about is just having a fresh start. I think there’s a lot of learning experiences from last year that we’ve talked about and this year, it’s all about just working together, right? You’ve got to come up with a plan, obviously talk about it, and then execute it. So, I’m excited for that part of it.”
Jones improved in practices of late with 18-24 passing for 75% in drills according to MassLive’s Mark Daniels. The former Alabama star went 19-39 for 49% with two interceptions in the first three days of training camp, Daniels reported.
“For me, I’m just trying to be really consistent, try not to ride the wave, just stay my course and hopefully, everybody on our offense feels that, too. I think Coach O’Brien does a great job laying out what we do well so far, and we’re going to learn every day what we do well and then from there, you just keep moving forward and execute the plan. So, I’m definitely excited for that.”
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