FOXBORO, Mass. — The results weren’t there this season for Mac Jones, who reportedly lost his Patriots starting job ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
But teammates continued to publicly support the embattled quarterback.
Multiple New England pass-catchers praised Jones after Wednesday’s practice, with the strongest endorsement coming from tight end Mike Gesicki.
“I’ll never have anything negative to say about Mac,” Gesicki said. “He’s the same guy that reached out to me the day after I signed here. He’s the same guy that had me over to his house. He’s the same guy that has led us through good and led us through adversity.
“He’s the same guy, and I think that he deserves a ton of credit for the way that he handles himself, the way that he goes about his process, how he prepares. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Second-year pro Bailey Zappe took the vast majority of reps during the open media portion of Wednesday’s practice — a trend that reportedly continued after reporters exited. Multiple sources told MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels that Jones ran the scout team. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe later reported the Patriots were preparing Zappe to start Sunday and expected him to do so, barring any setbacks.
It’s unclear what role Jones will have against the Chargers, if any. Rookie practice squadder Malik Cunningham rotated with Zappe during Wednesday’s open media window while Jones watched, suggesting the 2021 first-rounder could be dropped all the way to third string or made inactive. The Patriots also could make Jones the primary backup while elevating the dual-threat Cunningham for a situational role.
“I’ll never have anything negative to say about Mac.”
Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said Jones, who was benched in each of the last two games and four of the last eight, has been “great” despite his demotion.
“That dude, I’ll tell you one thing, his attitude with everything going on, he’s very positive,” Smith-Schuster said. “He’s a professional character in all this, very supportive of everyone.”
Zappe struggled in his four relief appearances this season but impressed in his two starts as a rookie, steering the Patriots to blowout wins over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns while Jones was out with an ankle injury.
Barring a change of plans, this will be the first time since Jones joined the Patriots in 2021 that he was healthy and did not start.
