Bailey Zappe has played well in his two starts with the New England Patriots this season, which has led to some speculation that the rookie could supplant Mac Jones even when Jones is fully recovered from his ankle injury. That juicy narrative seems to be taking on a life of its own.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe discussed New England’s so-called quarterback controversy during a Wednesday morning appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”
The longtime reporter shared a piece of information that he knew would generate headlines. Volin said he has been told by “someone who would know” that Jones has an “attitude problem.” He also indicated that Patriots offensive assistant Joe Judge has made it known that he prefers Zappe to Jones.
“Someone reached out in my DMs and said, ‘Mac, yeah, his attitude problem is obvious in the building and everyone knows it,'” Volin said. “Take that for what it’s worth.”
Volin said the information was not shared by someone who covers the Patriots. He also said we would not classify it as a report, but he seemed fairly confident in the source. You can hear more of his comments below:
The story gets more interesting from there. Shortly after Volin dropped his bomb on the air, Barstool Sports published a story claiming the Patriots reporter may have been duped by one of their loyal followers — also known as “Stoolies.” This person told Barstool that he sent Volin a direct message on Wednesday morning with a completely fabricated story about Jones. The shared what he says is a screenshot of the exchange. It appears to match up with what Volin told WEEI.
Perhaps that was a coincidence. Maybe Volin had already heard rumblings that Jones and the Patriots are at odds. For what it’s worth, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also joined “The Greg Hill Show” and said he has heard the same talk about Jones. He said there is “real frustration” within the former Alabama star’s camp.
“I’m trying to let you all know something’s up, without saying with 100 percent certainty to put it in cement that something is up, but something is up,” Florio said. “Something is up and there’s gotta be fire in that smoke.”
Jones did not play prior to injuring his ankle in Week 3. Some were already drawing the conclusion that he had taken a step back in his second season and was having a tough time without Josh McDaniels coaching him. Now that New England’s offense has looked better without Jones, albeit against weak opponents, one line of thinking is that the Patriots could slow-play his recovery.
Belichick has been asked several questions about the possibility of a QB controversy. You can probably guess how he responded.
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