Last season was a disaster for the New England Patriots, with the team’s offense being a mess in the aftermath of longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unfortunately for then-second-year quarterback Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and his coaching staff decided not to replace McDaniels and went without an offensive coordinator for the 2022 NFL season.
This turned out to be one of the worst decisions Belichick has ever made, as New England struggled all season long offensively and saw a Pro Bowl rookie turn into a mediocre quarterback on the verge of losing his job as the starter for the Patriots.
However, fortunately for Jones, the bulk of the blame in New England was put on the coaching staff rather than the quarterback for how things went last season, and that seems to have carried over to this year’s training camp with Bill O’Brien now calling the shots on offense.
Although Bailey Zappe had some moments during the times he played last season, reporter Greg Bedard claims there’s no quarterback controversy brewing in New England because Jones is the undisputed starter to start this season, via NBC Sports Boston.
"Right now, it's not an open competition" @GregABedard joins @FelgerAndMazz to explain why we shouldn't be talking about a QB competition in New England yet pic.twitter.com/QYgkxCf2wD
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) August 3, 2023
Although Bedard claims there’s no quarterback competition taking place in New England with Jones without question being the team’s starter Week 1, it does seem as if Belichick may be preparing Zappe to be the starter if Jones can’t cut it early in the 2023 campaign.
Even though there appears to be a lot of confidence in Jones moving forward, Zappe getting first-team snaps, like Bedard said, has to mean something, as Belichick might be keeping his options open.
Only time will tell how things pan out in New England, but it does seem like there may be a storyline brewing.
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