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Patriots: The quarterback battle between Jones and Zappe

By Justin Trombino

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 01: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots warms up as Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots looks on before a game against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on January 01, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 01: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots warms up as Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots looks on before a game against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on January 01, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /
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The Patriots are preparing for a legitimate quarterback battle between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe when OTA’s and minicamp roll around in the spring. So this is the offseason of analysis for the Pats, and it has to start with the quarterback position.

With the return of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, it’s fair for New England to see what quarterback is going to work best for him. Is it going to be Jones, a player from Alabama where O’Brien was for the last two years, or Zappe, a player who proved to pick up the offense quickly as a rookie last year?

In the upcoming months, we will see a true position battle between Jones and Zappe, a more intense competition than we saw in 2021 between Jones and Cam Newton or over the last two decades in New England. This is new territory, and seeing how O’Brien navigates through it will be fascinating.

It all starts with an unbiased O’Brien, who really is the perfect man for the job. A coach with NFL experience who just spent the last two years at the college level to come in and work with Jones and Zappe, who aren’t too far removed from college themselves. This has all the ingredients to be successful for the Patriots.

On the one hand, there’s a former first-round draft pick in Jones, who had a promising rookie season. While on the other hand, a quarterback in Zappe, who was calm and cool amidst all the dysfunction that last season brought.

In what should be a high-powered passing offense under O’Brien, it’s safe to assume the playing field is essentially even between Jones and Zappe right now. He’s revamping the playbook and formulating new schemes to support the free agent talent that was brought in this offseason in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki.

The unbiased outlook from O’Brien will not only be refreshing, but it’ll determine what New England truly has at quarterback, ending the position battle by the end of training camp and naming a starting quarterback.

Nevertheless, this is a good problem for the Patriots to be going through. The only issue is the way Jones has been treated by the fans, media, and the organization throughout the entire offseason.

This position battle between Jones and Zappe will get intense, and until there’s officially a starting quarterback named, the rumor mill and speculations will continue.

However, I believe the starting quarterback will be an open competition throughout training camp.

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