One of the more fascinating elements of the reported tension that exists between Bill Belichick and Mac Jones centers around the future of the quarterback position: Where do the New England Patriots turn if they do, in fact, trade their third-year signal-caller?
Lamar Jackson is a popular name kicked around in speculation, as he's extremely talented -- a two-time Pro Bowler and the 2019 NFL MVP -- and could immediately shift the balance of power in the AFC East. But the Patriots' in-house alternative, Bailey Zappe, sure made fans across New England last season while filling in for Jones. And that support reportedly was evident in the locker room, as well.
Might there be two QB camps, split between Jones and Zappe? Dan Patrick more or less posed the question on his radio show Wednesday while explaining what he heard from someone who used to play for the Patriots.
"If you're going to do that to Mac Jones, does it signal, 'Alright, then we're in the Lamar Jackson sweepstakes.' Or are you going to go Bailey Zappe? And I do think that locker room is split," Patrick said. "Somebody who used to play for the Patriots, and I asked, 'Could you find out sorta how that feels in the locker room?' And when he came back to me, probably four days later, he said, 'There's a lot of support for Bailey Zappe.'
"But that doesn't mean they're ready to turn the team over to Bailey Zappe. Bailey Zappe was a great college quarterback -- put up a lot of yards there -- but you spent the 15th pick in the first round on Mac Jones. You can't whiff on that."
It's important to emphasize the second part of Patrick's assessment: That a potential trade involving Jones doesn't necessarily mean Belichick views Zappe, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, as the guy. But Belichick hasn't exactly given Jones a ringing endorsement this offseason as New England's long-term starter. And Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer wrote Wednesday -- one day after ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio reported that Belichick shopped Jones in trade talks this offseason -- that Patriots coaches didn't think there was a "massive chasm" between the two QBs.
Perhaps that'll open the door for Zappe Fever to once again take over Foxboro in 2023.
