The Patriots appear to have their quarterback for Week 13 against the Chargers — and it does not appear it will be Mac Jones.
According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, the Patriots are “preparing” to start Bailey Zappe this Sunday against Los Angeles as Jones has continued to flounder this season.
This comes later in the day after Zappe led the way in practice reps on Wednesday, followed next by Malik Cunningham, ESPN reported.
Jones did not throw.
According to the Boston Herald, Jones has lacked confidence in a number of facets of his game, and one source told the outlet that the third-year signal-caller is “spiraling.”
After Wednesday’s practice, head coach Bill Belichick did not confirm anything about who would get the starting nod this weekend.
“I’m not going to make any announcements on our lineup at any position,” Belichick told reporters before 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 got the start against the Giants on Sunday, but again struggled, throwing two interceptions during the first half while completing 12 of 21 passes for just 89 yards.
At halftime, he was benched in favor of Zappe, who led New England on a 60-yard scoring drive in the third quarter before the Patriots fell, 10-7.
It was the second straight week in which Jones was replaced by Zappe.
In Week 10, Jones was pulled for Zappe in the final minutes of the fourth quarter — and berated on the sidelines by offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien — of their eventual loss to the Colts in Germany.
Jones ranks 29th out of 46 quarterbacks with a 77.0 quarterback rating this season while throwing the second-most interceptions (12) in the entire NFL.
This comes two years after Jones was a Pro Bowler and finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Now, it appears like he could be sitting in favor of Zappe, who went 2-0 as a starter last season.