Patriots Mailbag: Why Malik Cunningham Should Have Role In New-Look Offense

The Mac Jones era seemingly is over in New England. Bailey Zappe is in line to start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Patriots’ struggling offense will look, at the very least, different as Bill Belichick’s squad limps through the final six weeks of its season.

What does the future hold for Jones after his demotion? Could a certain multi-positional rookie factor into New England’s plan behind center? Have the Patriots found a long-term solution on the offensive line?

We tackled those questions and more in this week’s Patriots mailbag. Let’s dive in:

@bldnghrt
In light of other QBs’ performance, what are the factors that have kept them from taking a serious look at Malik Cunningham at QB – accuracy, decision making, or something else? Aside from the number of reps they’ve gotten, where is Zappe significantly better than Cunningham?
I know many people are clamoring to see Cunningham, and he might get a shot this Sunday. He rotated with Zappe during the open media portion of Wednesday’s practice while Jones watched, suggesting the Patriots might have plans to play him against the Chargers. Whether that’s as Zappe’s primary backup, in a Taysom Hill-esque situational role or both remains to be seen.

But it’s important to remember we’re talking about an undrafted rookie here, and one who’s split his time between two positions all season. And, according to multiple Patriots coaches and Cunningham himself, his workload has been heavily tilted toward wide receiver, which he never played before arriving in Foxboro in May.

Cunningham looked great on that one drive against the Houston Texans back in the preseason opener, but that was against third-string defenders. He’s seen only about a half-dozen game reps at QB since that night in early August. The Patriots have cut him twice. Thrusting him into a starting job this week would be too much to handle.

All that said, the former Louisville star has top-tier athleticism and real playmaking ability, especially as a rusher. I’d give him some snaps as a change-of-pace option over these final six weeks and see what he can do.

@R_STEELE1
Do you think it’s possible they elevate Grier and dress 3 “QBs” on Sunday? Zappe the starter, Grier the backup, Malik with some packages and then Mac as the emergency 3rd
Good question, and one I’m sure other people are asking.

With the way the Patriots’ roster currently is constructed, Jones, who reportedly ran the scout team Wednesday, cannot be designated as the emergency third quarterback. All three QBs must be on the 53-man roster for a team to utilize that loophole, and as of Thursday, the Patriots only had two: Zappe and Jones. Cunningham and Will Grier both were on the practice squad.

If the team signed either Cunningham or Grier to the 53 ahead of Sunday’s game, then it would be allowed to designate Jones as emergency third-string, meaning he would not take up a spot on the 48-man gameday roster. Otherwise, the only way the Patriots could dress three or more QBs would be to give all three of them gameday roster spots.

Pregame roster moves, including temporary P-squad elevations, must be finalized by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, so we’ll have a better idea by then of how the Patriots plan to proceed here.

@NEPatriot_USA
Is Mac Jones’ NFL career over if he doesn’t play another game for N.E.?
I very highly doubt that. Do I think Jones’ career in New England is over after this season? Yeah, probably. But though he looks shell-shocked and unplayable right now, he’s still a talented passer who enjoyed legitimate NFL success just two years ago (and even some sporadic flashes this season).

Some other team will give him a shot, either as a backup or as part of a quarterback competition, and I still think there’s a chance he can reestablish himself as a respectable QB with the right coaching and the proper pieces around him.

Jones needs a complete mental reset, though, and could benefit from a situation like what the Jets tried to do with fellow 2021 first-rounder Zach Wilson this season. New York’s plan — which obviously was foiled almost immediately — was for Wilson to sit behind Aaron Rodgers for a year or two before, ideally, being ready to reclaim the starting job.

Could a similar situation exist for Jones with, say, the Los Angeles Rams, who likely are nearing the end with Matthew Stafford? The San Francisco 49ers are another obvious possibility given Kyle Shanahan’s reported pre-draft interest in the Alabama product.

@ashley1992__
Hi Zack, what do you think Sow and Onwenu are the future on the right side of the O-line and how do you think they have played so far this year?
They very well could be. Sidy Sow and Mike Ownenu have looked great on the right side of the Patriots’ line since New England paired them together in Week 7. Sow entered Week 13 as Pro Football Focus’s highest-graded rookie guard, and Onwenu has been miles better than New England’s previous right tackles since Bill Belichick finally relented and moved him outside.

The Patriots wanted to keep Onwenu at his natural position of guard, where he played at a borderline Pro Bowl level last season. But right tackle is a higher-value spot, and the 2020 sixth-rounder has proven he can perform there at a high level.

The big question, though, is what Onwenu’s market will be if and when he hits free agency this spring, and whether the Patriots would be willing to pay that bill. My take? Re-sign him to play right tackle — and pay him as such — to shore up a position that’s given New England problems for years.

@Meghan025
Kicker talk: Do you think Chad Ryland has the rookie year yips? Do you think he’ll settle down and improve as he gets more settled? There has to be a reason he was drafted in the 4th round, but we haven’t seen it yet.
The Patriots aren’t cutting the cord on Ryland just yet, but they did add some insurance/competition this week by signing the more experienced Matthew Wright to their practice squad. The rookie said he wasn’t surprised by the move, saying: “I think the results called for that.”

And he’s right. The results haven’t been there. It’s worth noting Ryland has attempted just 18 field goals this season (tied for 28th-most), but he missed six of them for an ugly field-goal conversion rate of 66.7%. Only Graham Gano is worse among qualified kickers.

Ryland’s last two misses were especially egregious: a pair of 35-yard shanks in close losses to the Indianapolis Colts (10-6) and New York Giants (10-7). A make on the first might have changed the Patriots’ late-game calculus, as they would’ve only needed a field goal to take the lead. Converting the latter would have forced overtime.

“Chad is a very talented player,” Belichick said Monday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “But this is two weeks in a row that we basically missed extra points. It’s not good enough.”

It would be a major draft whiff to trade up for a player in the fourth round and then cut him within a year, and the Patriots aren’t there with Ryland yet. But Wright’s arrival put the Maryland product on notice.