Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe reportedly split quarterback reps for Patriots at practice this week

Patriots

The Patriots still haven’t named a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Giants.

Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe appear to be competing for the Patriots’ starting quarterback job. Alex Grimm/Getty Images

When the Patriots wrapped up practice for the week on Friday, they still didn’t know who would be their starting quarterback against the Giants on Sunday.

Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe split reps at quarterback during practice, while both quarterbacks still haven’t been told who will start, multiple players reportedly told NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry.

Zappe even told reporters that he doesn’t know if he’ll be starting yet either, responding, “No” when asked Friday if he knew what the plan was.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been steadfast in saying he’s told all of the quarterbacks to be ready without naming a starter when speaking to reporters this week.

“I’ve told everybody to be ready to go,” Belichick reiterated again Friday. “Hopefully that’s what they’re all doing. I’m not going to announce starters at every position or whatever. Everybody will be ready to go.”

The Patriots’ quarterback controversy was renewed in the closing moments of their Week 10 loss to the Colts in Germany. Jones was benched for Zappe on the Patriots’ final possession after throwing a red-zone interception on their penultimate drive as they trailed, 10-6. Zappe threw an interception that sealed the loss, throwing a ball into triple coverage after a fake spike.

Jones’s benching against the Colts marked the third time this season that he was pulled from a game, but the first time that it had happened with the game still in reach for the Patriots. The third-year quarterback has largely struggled this season, completing 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,031 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, which is tied for the third-most in the league.

Jones’s play is a large reason why the Patriots are 2-8 and rank 26th in total offense while sitting second-to-last in scoring (14.1 points per game). The players that spoke to Perry reportedly don’t have a preference at who starts at quarterback despite Jones’s struggles this season, with one player reportedly saying they didn’t think choosing one quarterback over the other would provide a jolt for the unit.

As there was some speculation that Jones played his final snaps with the Patriots entering the bye week, it appears that his hopes of starting are still alive. He told reporters earlier this week that he’s wishing that’s the case.

“Hope so. I mean, that’s the plan,” Jones said when asked if he’ll start against the Giants on Wednesday. “A lot of that decision-making is things I can’t control, but I can control my attitude and my effort.”

The fact that Jones and Zappe split reps in practice this week would seem to signal that Will Grier and Malik Cunningham aren’t likely to start Sunday. Grier has been on the Patriots’ active roster since September, but the five-year pro hasn’t played in a regular-season game since his rookie year in 2019.

Cunningham is back on the Patriots’ practice squad. He served as the team’s primary backup in their Week 6 loss to the Raiders. If the Patriots want to play Cunningham on Sunday in a similar gadget role like they did in that game, they can make him one of their two practice squad elevations.