The Patriots named Alex Van Pelt their new OC under HC Jerod Mayo. Van Pelt spent the last four seasons as Cleveland's OC, although he didn't call plays for the Browns. Van Pelt did call plays for the Bills way back in 2009. That team finished 30th in total yards and 28th in points under QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards. Van Pelt worked as QBs coach for the Bucs, Packers, and Bengals in between his OC stints and is expected to bring a West Coast offense to New England. We'll see what the Patriots do at QB this offseason. They hold the third overall pick and will have a crack at USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, and/or LSU's Jayden Daniels.
The Patriots are preparing to start QB Bailey Zappe against the Chargers this weekend, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. QB Mac Jones was abysmal again last week, completing just 12 of 21 passes (57%) for 89 yards (4.2 YPA), 0 TDs, and two INTs before getting yanked for Zappe. This might be the end of Jones' time in New England. Zappe, of course, has not been any better than Jones this season. He's completed only 49% of his passes at 4.0 yards per attempt across four appearances. He was better in two starts last season, tallying a 75% completion rate and 9.0 yards per attempt. "The Patriots are hoping that a full week of practice and game preparation helps bring out a better performance from Zappe," The Athletic's Chad Graff writes. "They hope that Zappe will be better against the Chargers than he’s been in relief this season now that he’ll get more reps in practice and with a gameplan built around what he can do." We'll see how Zappe fares, but this remains a passing game to avoid in Week 13 fantasy lineups.
Patriots QB Mac Jones was yanked in favor of QB Bailey Zappe at halftime of Sunday's game vs. the Giants. Jones went 12-of-21 for 89 yards, 0 TDs, and two INTs over the first 30 minutes, producing 0 points. We'll see how Zappe fares and what the Patriots do at QB going forward. It'll remain a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms that Patriots QB Mac Jones will start today's game vs. the Giants. Garafolo adds that QB Bailey Zappe is "likely to be in the mix as well." It's unclear exactly what that means -- but it's clear that you should avoid this situation in Week 12 fantasy lineups.
ESPN's Adam Schefter tweets that "signs continue to point to" Patriots QB Mac Jones starting today's game vs. the Giants. The team had not yet been informed of the starting QB on Friday, per Schefter, which seems less than ideal. You should be avoiding this situation in Week 12 fantasy lineups.
Patriots QB Mac Jones was benched for the final drive of Sunday’s loss to the Colts. Bailey Zappe took over and promptly threw a game-ending INT on his seventh attempt. How’d we get here? Well, Jones posted only 170 yards and 1 INT on 15-of-20 passing. He misfired badly on several throws, including one that should have gone for a late score. Jones also took a season-high five sacks. New England will evaluate its QB options during a Week 11 bye. Note that Zappe targeted Demario Douglas four times in today’s limited action. Overall, the Round 6 rookie led the team across the board with 9 targets, 6 catches, and 84 yards. He's the most reliable piece of a bottom-barrel pass offense and should retain some WR3/FLEX value in PPR leagues, especially with Kendrick Bourne out for the year.
Patriots QB Mac Jones will be on a "short leash" vs. the Raiders today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "A poor opening few series could potentially trigger another QB to take snaps in Las Vegas," Rapoport writes. It's unclear, though, whether QB Bailey Zappe or QB Will Grier would replace Jones. Rapoport adds that New England has a package of plays ready for rookie QB Malik Cunningham. It's obviously a situation to stay far away from in Week 6 fantasy lineups.
Patriots QB Mac Jones is expected to start Sunday's game vs. the Raiders, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. "I’m told this is still an important week of practice for [Jones] as the Patriots evaluate every position on the roster on the heels of the worst two losses of Bill Belichick’s career," Howe adds. Jones has been awful the past two weeks: 56% completion rate, 6.1 yards per attempt, 0 TDs, and four INTs. It sounds like there's still a chance that a bad week of practice sends him to the bench in favor of QB Bailey Zappe. Either way, you should be avoiding this situation in Week 6 fantasy lineups.
Patriots QB Mac Jones tried to play football in Week 5 vs. the Saints, but a pair of INTs and a lost fumble really got in the way of success. He completed just 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards before being benched for Bailey Zappe for the second week in a row. To make matters worse, one of Jones’ INTs was a pick-six TD, his third in 2023 alone. Jones started the year with some promising performances, but these last two weeks have to leave fantasy managers wondering how much longer it’ll be before New England makes a change at QB. We’ll see who’s under center in Week 6 vs. the Raiders.
Patriots QB Mac Jones was benched in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Saints. New England was down 31-0 at that point, with Jones 12 of 22 for 110 yards, 0 TDs, two INTs, and fumble lost. QB Bailey Zappe will finish out the game for the Patriots. We'll see how he fares and who gets the Week 6 start vs. the Raiders.
Patriots QB Bailey Zappe got more reps in practice this week, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. QB Mac Jones has struggled the past two weeks, completing 54% of his passes with one TD and two INTs. "Other teams who watch the tape from the Cowboys game say Mac's eyes are down. He is looking at the rush. It's impossible to play on-time, efficient football like that," Pelissero says. "No change [at QB] is considered likely or imminent at this point," Pelissero adds. But it sure sounds like Jones' leash is shortening.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick said after Sunday's blowout loss to the Cowboys that QB Mac Jones remains the starter. Belichick indicated that Jones was pulled because of the lopsided score rather than his performance. Jones was not good against Dallas but had played reasonably well over the first three weeks of the season. He'll be back under center vs. the Saints next Sunday.
Patriots QB Bailey Zappe completed just four of nine passes for 57 yards after taking over for Mac Jones in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. Zappe took a sack and didn't pilot any scoring drives. But he at least avoided turnovers. We're guessing New England will go back to Jones for Week 5, but we'll watch for confirmation.
QB Mac Jones was benched in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys, with the Patriots down 31-3. Jones completed 12 of 21 passes for 150 yards, 0 TDs, and two INTs, one of which went for a pick-6. Jones also lost a fumble that was returned for a Dallas TD. He's been replaced by QB Bailey Zappe. We'll see about New England's plan at QB going forward.
The Patriots released QB Matt Corral and elevated QB Bailey Zappe from the practice squad. So, after some early September shenanigans, Zappe is back at QB Mac Jones' backup.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted Tuesday that the Patriots have waived backup QB Bailey Zappe. The 2022 fourth-round pick appeared in four games last season (including two starts), compiling 65 completions on 92 attempts for 781 passing yards, 5 TDs, and 3 INTs. The team also cut rookie Malik Cunningham in a corresponding move, making the QB2 job in New England a totally wide-open spot. We'll be sure dynasty superflex managers in the loop once we learn who the backup to starter Mac Jones is.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick refused to commit to QB Mac Jones as his 2023 starter when asked at the league meetings this week. “Everybody will get a chance to play," Belichick said. "Everybody that’s on our roster, if they earn the opportunity to play, then based on what they do in practice and all that, then they’ll get an opportunity to play.” It's a classic Belichickian response that we're not reading much into. QB Bailey Zappe was better than expected when pressed into duty last season. But Jones is the guy New England spent a 1st-round pick on just two years ago. He'll have a much better chance this season now that the Patriots have an actual OC in Bill O'Brien running the offense. That said, Jones is an unexciting QB2 option in early best-ball drafts.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick refused to commit to QB Mac Jones as his starter the rest of the way when asked on Thursday. Jones has been bad for most of the season and bottomed out with 112 passing yards on 3.6 yards per attempt vs. the Raiders last week. It's possible that we see QB Bailey Zappe again this year -- but you should be trying to avoid this passing game in fantasy lineups.
ESPN's Field Yates reports that Patriots QB Mac Jones will start Sunday's game against the Jets. Jones took "about 90%" of the 1st-team reps in Wednesday's practice, Yates adds. Jones was yanked from Monday night's loss to the Bears after going 3-of-6 for 13 yards and an INT. But QB Bailey Zappe managed just 185 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs the rest of the way. We'd expect Jones to remain New England' starter for the remains of the season, unless he really flops. He's just a QB2 in fantasy football.
The Patriots replaced QB Mac Jones with Bailey Zappe early in the 2nd quarter of Monday night's game against the Bears. The New England offense had started slowly but drove for TDs on each of the 1st 2 Zappe-led possessions. Jones' hadn't been showing ill effects from the high-ankle sprain that cost him the previous 3 games. He even ran for 24 yards before leaving. We'll see how this situation plays out.
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