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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has yet to name a starting quarterback for Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers amid Mac Jones’ struggles, though it’s possible the team could pivot to either Bailey Zappe or Malik Cunningham.
Zappe and Cunningham split practice reps on Wednesday during the portion of practice that was open to reporters, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Jones and practice squad quarterback Will Grier did not take any throws during that portion of practice.
“I’m not going to make any announcements on our lineup at any position,” Belichick said prior to practice. “See how practice goes, see if everybody is ready to go, see what the injury situation is, and we’ll go with what we think is best Sunday.”
Jones is in the midst of the worst season of his career, and some Patriots fans and analysts have noted that he looks “broken.”
The 2021 first-round pick, who has been benched four times, has completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 2,120 yards and 10 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 11 games.
The only players to have thrown more interceptions this year are Washington Commanders signal-caller Sam Howell and Buffalo Bills veteran Josh Allen, who have each tossed 13 picks.
While New England’s offensive line and the lack of receiving options haven’t done Jones any favors this year, the Alabama product’s poor decision-making has been at the forefront of the team’s issues.
After Jones was benched for the third time in a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 12 in Germany, many believed Belichick would turn to Zappe as his starter for Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the New York Giants.
That wasn’t the case as Jones started the matchup, completing 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards and two interceptions before being benched in favor of Zappe, who wasn’t much better as he completed 9 of 14 passes for 54 yards and one pick.
When asked about Jones’ shortcomings after the game, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told reporters that he should be the one to blame, not his quarterback.
“He’s a very bright guy. He works very hard, he’s passionate about the game,” O’Brien said Tuesday. “Things haven’t gone great for him this year. I don’t think he’s the No. 1 guy to blame. If you want to blame anybody, blame me. I’m the one that designs it and it’s not going very well. So can he execute better? Are there things he can do better? Sure. But there’s things all of us have to do better to put a winning product on the field.”
If the Patriots make a change at quarterback for Sunday’s matchup against the Chargers, it’s reasonable to believe Zappe would be the starter as Cunningham, an undrafted rookie, has appeared in just one game this season.
The Patriots are 2-9 and on pace for their worst season since the early 90s.
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