The New England Patriots need a new quarterback atop their depth chart in 2024. That is obvious.
Could they bring in a new face for the remainder of the 2023 season?
"I don’t really see that right now, but I mean, I wouldn’t rule anything out, anything that would help our team," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during his Monday morning press conference.
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"We’ve brought in players at any position. You never know what’s going to happen. If I think there’s somebody, if our pro scouting department thinks there is somebody that would help us, we’ll certainly listen to it and take a look at it, at any position. It’s not really about the quarterback position. It would really be any position. I don’t know. Nobody that comes to mind, but we’ll see."
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The Patriots had another quarterback on the roster, Will Grier, but they waived him Saturday.
Grier never played a snap for the Patriots this season, which was a little puzzling given the awful football we've watched from Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Jones was benched at halftime of Sunday's 10-7 loss to the New York Giants. He threw two interceptions and the Patriots scored zero points with him under center. It was the fourth time in 11 games that Jones has been benched this season. Zappe came in and didn't fare much better. He also threw an interception and completed nine passes for just 54 yards.
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It's unknown who will start at QB when the Patriots host the Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday's Week 13 game at Gillette Stadium. Neither Jones nor Zappe inspires much confidence, but unless the Patriots want to elevate practice squad quarterback Malik Cunningham, those are the only two options. The trade deadline has passed, and any available quarterbacks on practice squads around the league aren't exciting at all.
Ultimately, sticking with Jones and/or Zappe might actually benefit the Patriots. They have a 2-9 record and currently own the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. We've reached the point where losing games is actually the best possible outcome for the team. So if the Patriots don't add another quarterback, that's probably the wise choice.