Bill Belichick, Patriots Will ‘Talk About’ More Reps For Bailey Zappe

Bill Belichick isn’t anticipating a quarterback change after the Patriots’ horrific loss in Dallas. But the distribution of practice reps between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe could shift moving forward.

One day after confirming Jones will start next Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium, Belichick said New England would consider giving additional first-team reps to his backup, Zappe.

“I doubt anything would change significantly,” Belichick said in a Monday morning video conference. “But we’ll talk about that. I don’t know. We haven’t gotten to that point yet.”

Zappe replaced Jones late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 38-3 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Jones committed three turnovers in the game, and Dallas returned two for touchdowns: a second-quarter scoop-and-score off a strip-sack fumble and a pick-six 10 minutes later.

Belichick insisted Jones was not benched for poor performance, saying he “didn’t think there was any point in leaving him on the game” with the Patriots trailing by 28 points.

“In general, I think he makes pretty good decisions,” Belichick said Monday. “He sees things well. But obviously, as a team, we can’t win turning the ball over three times in a game, two for touchdowns. We’ve got to do a better job of that. That’s everybody’s responsibility. The quarterback’s part of it, so is everybody else.”

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Zappe started two games as a fourth-round rookie last season and played well enough to win both. The Western Kentucky product struggled to adjust to Bill O’Brien’s new Patriots offense this summer, however, and was released during final cuts. New England subsequently re-signed him to the practice squad and later promoted him back to the 53-man roster.

“Bailey works hard,” Belichick said. “He’s in here early, stays late. He spends a lot of time looking at film, studying what we do, what our opponents do, and he prepares very well.”

Jones went 12-for-21 for 150 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions against the Cowboys, posting a 39.9 passer rating that was the third-worst of his career. Zappe played the final three series and went 4-for-9 for 57 yards.