Patriots Rumors: This QB Will Play If Mac Jones Benched Again

Mac Jones will start this Sunday when the Patriots visit the Las Vegas Raiders. Bill Belichick made that perfectly clear Wednesday morning.

But what if Jones gets benched during the game, or at any point in the near future?

Many New England fans probably would want sophomore Bailey Zappe to get the first crack at replacing Jones. But, the more likely scenario is the Patriots turning toward the player who's been their emergency third quarterback for the last three weeks, according to Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal.

"From talking to people around the team, I think, if Mac Jones doesn't succeed this week, if he doesn't retain his job, I think it's Will Grier's," Bedard said during Tuesday's "Felger & Mazz" episode on 98. The Sports Hub.

Grier, 28, was signed by New England on Sept. 21 after quarterbacks Matt Corral and Ian Book were released. The West Virginia product spent the first two seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers before spending the 2021 and 2022 campaigns with the Dallas Cowboys. Grier began this season on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad before being poached by the Patriots.

He hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2019 with Carolina.

Zappe replaced Jones in each of the last two games, taking over in consecutive blowouts that saw miserable performances from New England's franchise quarterback. But Zappe, who was cut then re-signed before Week 1, arguably was worse than Jones in both games. The 2022 fourth-round pick no longer appears locked into the top backup QB job.

Of course, Jones would make this conversation moot if he turned things around and reaffirmed his job status. But if he implodes again, Grier reportedly could be the next man up.