Report: Patriots might not see 'massive gap' between Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe

Last year, Bailey Zappe burst onto the scene for the New England Patriots in place of Mac Jones. The Patriots had plenty of question marks on offense, as well, and they might have a big decision looming at quarterback.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer joined 98.5 The Sports Hub and talked about the relationship between Jones and New England coach Bill Belichick this week. He pointed out some potential issues Belichick had with Jones and suggested the Patriots could hear offers for Jones, specifically from the Las Vegas Raiders if the interest is there. That would reunite Jones with Josh McDaniels, who was his offensive coordinator during his strong rookie season.

“I think they would,” Breer said of whether the Patriots would hear offers, via NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger. “Internally, I don’t know if they see this massive gap between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. I’m not saying they think Bailey’s as good as Mac, but there was some element of Bailey doing what he was coached to do last year that I think gave Bailey the edge to some degree for a little while there.

“So I think it’ll be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer came along. I don’t think a real offer is going to come along, but it’d be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer did come along.”

As for what specific issues Belichick might have had, Breer said it was about the way Jones handled things in his second season after a strong rookie year. However, he didn’t know how realistic a trade would be, especially from Las Vegas’ perspective.

“I don’t think Bill appreciated the way that Mac handled some of the stuff last year,” Breer said. “There’s a way that I think Bill thinks a franchise quarterback should conduct himself. And for the most part, [Tom] Brady did conduct himself that way. I think there were certain things in the way that Mac handled his second year as a pro that Bill didn’t appreciate.

“I don’t know how in love the Raiders are with Mac. Like, if you’re talking about getting their first-round pick, I don’t think that’s happening.”

New England turned in its two highest-scoring games with Zappe under center. He threw for 781 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions over four games, while Jones totaled 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 starts.