Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe started his first NFL game last week while starting quarterback Mac Jones was nursing a high-ankle sprain.
Zappe performed admirably, helping the New England Patriots get a dominant 29-0 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Now there are some questions surrounding the team’s quarterback situation for long-time head coach Bill Belichick to answer.
Many expected Belichick to confidently reaffirm that Jones would be the team’s starter once he’s healthy enough to return, but Belichick gave a non-committal answer about the situation during a press conference on Wednesday.
“We’ll see,” Belichick said via Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports when asked if Jones would be the starter when he returns.
Belichick added, “I don’t know.”
This isn’t exactly the vote of confidence that Jones was probably hoping to hear regarding his job security as the starter.
That being said, this is pretty much on brand with how Belichick has conducted things over his lengthy coaching tenure in New England.
Until it comes time to make a decision, Belichick will likely remain quiet about the team’s quarterback situation.
Considering Jones was taken with a first-round draft pick just two offseasons ago, it would certainly be a shocking decision to hand the starting job over to Zappe.
However, we have seen that Belichick is willing to make tough decisions about the quarterback situation in the past considering Tom Brady emerged as the Patriots’ starter early in his career despite being a sixth-round pick.
That’s not to say that Zappe will be nearly the player Brady became, but Belichick will ultimately do what he believes is best for his team, regardless of status or the draft capital that comes with a player.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.