A former New England Patriots player suggested that there were some divisions in the locker room over the team’s quarterback play in 2022.
Former Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty revealed in an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” that some players seemed to favor Bailey Zappe ahead of Mac Jones at times during the season depending on how things were going.
“I think player-wise there was enough trust that we’re going to put the best guy out there. But the struggles on offense, I think there were some guys in the locker room that like, ‘Alright, let’s go with Zappe.’ ‘No, Mac looked good today.’ It was just a back-and-forth, which to me, spoke more about what we had on offense than the quarterback,” McCourty said. “We just were never solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing.
“If something worked one day, like running the ball … everybody said ‘Let’s run!’ We had a game where we’re throwing the ball, ‘Let’s pass!’ ‘Let’s just not turn the ball over because we’re scoring on defense!’ To me, it was just that cycle of, there was never true hope.”
Essentially, McCourty thinks the offense was so inconsistent that players never had full confidence in what the unit was doing. Whenever something worked, however briefly, it seemed like the way forward. The fans certainly behaved that way, even when things ultimately did not work out.
Other reports have suggested that Jones has significant backing in the New England locker room, and that coach Bill Belichick actually frustrated some players with his handling of the situation. What everyone can agree on is that the New England offense was not good enough, and changes must be made.
H/T BroBible
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