Another week of Patriots quarterback drama begins.
Bill Belichick was asked Monday if Mac Jones, who was benched for a fourth time this season in Sunday’s loss to the Giants, would start against the Chargers this upcoming week.
“We’ll take a look at this week,” Belichick said on WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show.”
Belichick publicly dragged out the decision last week, telling reporters he would not make the call until Sunday.
After the game, though, Belichick said he actually decided “sometime during the week.”
That would appear to come as a surprise to Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, who said the team did not know until Sunday morning that Jones would start.
“Mac took a lot of reps in practice. It wasn’t a big surprise,” Belichick said of Henry’s comments.
No matter when the decision was made to start Jones, it completely backfired in a 10-7 loss to the Giants.
Jones was benched at halftime after throwing two interceptions and the Giants leading, 7-0.
Bailey Zappe led the Patriots to a touchdown on his first drive, but the team did not score again. The loss was sealed on a last-second missed field goal by rookie kicker Chad Ryland.
“It’s frustrating and it’s very frustrating as an ex-Patriot,” former tight end Rob Gronkowski said during the Fox halftime show.
“It’s one of the first time this year I’ve watched a complete half of a Patriots game and it’s as bad as what the fans have been saying. Mac Jones should have thrown four picks already … A lot of opportunities the New York Giants secondary missed out on a pick as well. It’s been rough.”
The loss dropped the Patriots to 2-9 and, in a sign of how desperate they are, Belichick did not dismiss the possibility of adding another quarterback.
The Patriots released Will Grier, who had been on their practice squad, last week.
“Yeah, I don’t really see that right now,” Belichick told reporters, according to the Boston Herald.
“But I mean, I wouldn’t rule anything out. Anything that would help our team. We’ve brought in players — at any position that — you never know what’s going to happen. If I think there’s somebody — our pro scouting department thinks there’s somebody that would help us, we’d certainly listen to it and take a look at it at any position. It’s not really about the quarterback position. It could be any position. I don’t know. Nobody that comes to mind but we’ll see.”
As the Patriots continue to spiral, they now own the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and are set up to potentially draft a franchise quarterback like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.
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