– FOXBOROUGH In the upcoming weeks, the scenario in the New England Patriots’ locker room has the potential to be extremely odd.
In Week 3, starting quarterback Mac Jones suffered an injury that allowed Bailey Zappe to enter the game. The Patriots have won the two games Zappe has started after going 1-2 with Jones as the starter through the first three games, and they came close to winning the first game he participated in after taking over for an injured Brian Hoyer.
Additionally, Zappe has put up more impressive stats than Jones thus far this season. The fourth-round rookie’s 111.4 passer rating is the highest of any quarterback in the league with at least 70 passes attempted. He has passed for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Jones, on the other side, has a passer rating of 76.2 while throwing for 786 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions.
The Patriots’ leaders are remaining calm despite widespread speculation over whether or not they will need to make a significant choice once Jones is fully recovered from his ankle strain.
Devin McCourty, a Patriots safety, claimed that during the current run with QB Zappe, the club is insulating itself from outside noise.
According to McCourty, the fact that Mac starts the year, Zappe joins, and we win two games, “it creates like the whole story and everything.” However, I believe that in general, the guys in the locker room are just enjoying themselves. That, I believe, was the most enjoyable aspect of my time in New England. Even though there may be activity outside, everyone in the locker room is probably getting ready to go.
Devin McCourty: “In the locker room guys are just appreciating having a good time… That’s been more the focus than [Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones]” pic.twitter.com/OAEepXSPx1
— NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) October 19, 2022
McCourty thinks that the Patriots’ recent winning streak, which includes victories against the Cleveland Browns (38) and the Detroit Lions (29-0), is more a result of individuals simply performing their jobs.
This team does a great job of playing hard and with effort, but winning comes down to execution, McCourty said. “So I believe that has received more attention than, How is it doing with Zappe? How is Mac doing? I believe that men have been severely restrained.
Patriots centre David Andrews had one piece of advise for Jones because the outside noise of people debating whether or not Jones should have his job back when he returns could cause him to rush back: Take your time.
One is, “Be as prepared as you can be, and make sure you’re where you need to be,” in my opinion. Wednesday, Andrews said. I haven’t had many injuries this season that have caused me to lose time; the only one that did was a mild illness that kept me from playing for a few weeks. Other than that, it’s been kind of a year off due to the injury.
However, I believe that as a player, I am aware that if I were in that situation, I would simply want to be as healthy as possible. You’re a competitor, therefore you want to go play, so that’s difficult. We’ll see, then. Both our medical personnel and he will decide on it.
Since he sustained the injury late in the Week 3 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, Jones clearly appears to be making improvement. In each of the last three games, his condition as of the final injury report has improved. He appeared a little more mobile than he had the previous two weeks when we last saw him on the practise field.
Nevertheless, Jones was declared ineligible 90 minutes before the Week 6 victory over the Browns. According to reports, Jones is anticipated to make a comeback for Week 7’s game against the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
QB Mac Jones, who was limited in Wednesday s practice, is once again present for the start of Thursday s session. His level of participation will be specified by the team later in the day. pic.twitter.com/vUuKKzsubT
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 13, 2022
Bill Belichick, the head coach of the Patriots, stated that he wouldn’t consider any speculative scenarios regarding how the team will approach the quarterback decision for the fourth consecutive week. He also has faith in Jones’ judgement in determining how he is managing his ailment.
We’ll see how it works, but I have complete faith in Mac and our chats over the past few years. On Wednesday, Belichick replied, “I don’t know. We won’t be practising today; instead, we’ll get a jump on the Bears with meetings, film analysis, and other activities. There is nothing to discuss today, but since we practise tomorrow, we’ll let you know how things are then and give you the injury report.
The Patriots will conduct their first of three practises prior to their game against the Bears on Thursday, as Belichick has said.
The article “Patriots captains discuss locker room mood amid Bailey Zappe’s rise” originally published on ClutchPoints.
