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Mac Jones remains odds-on favorite as Patriots' Week 1 starting quarterback over Bailey Zappe despite trade rumors

Could the New England Patriots start someone other than Mac Jones in Week 1?

Matt Severance

The coming NFL season will probably a make-or-break campaign for quarterback Mac Jones with the New England Patriots. His performance regressed from his first year, and he will be eligible for an extension on his rookie contract following the 2023 season. That's assuming Jones is still with the Pats, as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported New England has shopped Jones to several teams. In addition, coach Bill Belichick was non-committal about Jones starting this year. SportsLine offers odds on the Pats' Week 1 QB.

Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama, led the Patriots to a wild card spot while making the Pro Bowl as the most productive rookie quarterback in the NFL despite being the fifth one taken in that year's draft. Last season, New England slipped to 8-9 and Jones completed 65.2% of his passes for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 picks in 14 games for a rating of 84.8, compared to his 92.5 mark as a rookie.

Jones was 6-8 last year, while Bailey Zappe, a 2022 fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky, went 2-0 in his two starts. (Brian Hoyer started one game but is now with the Raiders.)  Overall in four games of action, Zappe completed 70.7% of his passes for 781 yards, five TDs and three picks for a rating of 100.9. The Patriots' two highest point totals of the season (38 against Cleveland; 29 against Detroit) came in the two games Zappe started. He quickly became the fans' choice to start under center.

When asked recently whether Jones would be in a quarterback competition with Zappe, Belichick said: "Everybody will get a chance to play. We'll play the best players." Belichick reportedly was unhappy with Jones' constant on-field screaming and gesticulating and how the young QB often went outside the team for counsel on how to improve New England's offense.

The entire offense regressed in 2022, thanks in large part to Belichick's ill-advised decision to hand offensive play-calling duties to former defensive assistant Matt Patricia. The predictable unit often led to frustration from Jones and his teammates.

Patricia is no longer in that role. Bill O'Brien is the team's new offensive coordinator, and he was in the same job for the past two seasons at Alabama. Jones helped teach O'Brien the offense when the Crimson Tide hired O'Brien as its offensive coordinator in 2021.

"I think he was an excellent choice. He has a learning-curve experience of our system. He knows Mac Jones. He knows how to build a great offense, and I'm excited to see what happens next year," owner Robert Kraft said of O'Brien.

At this point, it seems hugely unlikely that the Patriots will trade Jones unless another team has a quarterback injury. Florio reported that Pats called the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and Houston Texans about Jones. The Raiders might have made sense for a reunion with Josh McDaniels, but they signed Hoyer as Jimmy Garoppolo's backup.

Multiple outlets have reported the Pats aren't pursuing Lamar Jackson, and the Ravens probably wouldn't want Jones even if they were open to trading Jackson.

There has been scuttlebutt the Pats could select raw Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson at No. 14 overall in the first round of this month's draft if he falls there. Richardson would presumably sit and learn for a year. DraftKings has a prop on which team selects Richardson and the Pats are +1500.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Which Patriots QB will start in Week 1?

  • Mac Jones -200
  • Bailey Zappe +200
  • Other +1000

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