Patriots promote Malik Cunningham to active roster, signaling likely benching of Mac Jones

With their season in the skids, the Patriots possibly are planning a change at quarterback. The team promoted reserve quarterback Malik Cunningham from the practice squad on Saturday. A Mac Jones benching appears all but done.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick likely will go with second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe as the starter against the Chargers. There’s a possibiity that Cunningham will come in for a special package of offensive plays that take advantage of his athleticism. After all, the former Louisville standout made the team as a quarterback/receiver. Meanwhile, Jones, the former Alabama star and first-round draft pick in 2021, spent the week with the scout team.

The Athletic reported that Zappe will make his first start of the season. Jones isn’t expected to play. He started the first 11 games this season, with the Patriots struggling to a 2-9 record. New England also has dropped four straight games. The offense is averaging only 13.5 points per game.

Maybe last Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Giants forced Belichick to make the move. He benched Jones at halftime after the quarterback threw for only 89 yards, with a pair of interceptions in the opening two quarters. Keep in mind, undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito started at quarterback for the Giants. Belichick leaned on Zappe in the second half. But Zappe also wasn’t the answer. He completed nine of his 14 passes for only 54 yards with an interception.

Belichick has pulled Jones from games before. But then he starts him the next week. This time feels different according to reports coming out of the Patriots. The offense definitely is woeful. Consider that the Patriots became the first NFL team in three decades to drop consecutive games despite allowing only 10 or fewer points in each contest. The defense is doing its job while the offense is problematic.

Plus, the last time the Patriots started a season like this was back in 1993, when New England was 1-11 after 12 games. For context, that was so long ago, Tom Brady still was in high school.

Maybe Cunningham also can help as a change of pace. He made his NFL debut in week six against the Raiders. But it didn’t go so well. He played six snaps. Four were at receiver, but Jones never threw his way. The other two were as a quarterback. He had two plays for a negative four yards.