Devin McCourty suggests QB controversy reached the locker-room
Devin McCourty (former New England Patriots safety) shared an interesting insight about the quarterback’s room last year as Mac Jones prepares to enter his third season.
McCourty said some players preferred Jones to rookie Bailey Zappe.
Jones was injured and Zappe took over as his replacement. During his time as an NFL starter, Zappe threw 781 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and was a Western Kentucky product.
Zappe played the Chicago Bears in October last year, while Jones struggled all evening. There was a quarterback dispute between media and fans, with some fans choosing Zappe over Jones.
McCourty stated that there was also a division in the locker room. according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“I think player-wise there was enough trust that we’re going to put the best guy out there,” said McCourty, per Reiss. “But the struggles on offense, I think there were some guys in the locker room that were like ‘Let’s go with [Bailey] Zappe.’ Or ‘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. It was never possible to be a solid offensive unit that gave guys full faith in everything we were doing. There was never true hope.”
It will be interesting to see Jones’ performance in his third season, when expectations are higher than ever.
The Patriots have done a better job of getting pieces around the quarterback. This could reduce any locker room tensions with better performance. This was still a very telling indicator of how the offense performed last season.