This was the make-or-break season for Mac Jones. Fans and the team were willing to be patient, heading into his third NFL season he'd finally been given the tools to succeed and looked poised to join the list of young AFC East QBs to finally break out in their third season.
But that's clearly not happening.
Regardless of what happens for the rest of the 2023 season, whether it's Jones riding out the rest of the way or Bailey Zappe taking over, it's clear that the Week 1 starter in 2024 can not be Mac Jones.
With that in mind, here are the five most likely replacements for Mac Jones next season.
1. Bailey Zappe
Let's start with possibly the least exciting option, but one that can't be ignored.
Bailey Zappe showed some promise when he got to make 2 starts as a rookie in 2022, and it's looking like he'll get a nice extended tryout down the stretch in 2023 as well.
Personally I'm not sold on Zappe being the answer, but it's way too early to think we can really know one way or the other yet.
The chances of Mac starting 17 games this year are incredibly slim, and it's hard to imagine Zappe not getting at least a handful of starts unless the defense somehow carries the Patriots into playoff contention while Jones is still under center.
It doesn't feel like Zappe's ceiling is especially high, but there are two reasons I'm not going to let that sour me on the idea yet:
First of all, we haven't seen enough of his play to know that for sure. We should have a much better idea how true that is by the end of the season.
Second, this Patriots team is built around strong defense, special teams and a rushing attack. It's not going to take another Hall-of-Fame caliber quarterback to make us playoff contenders.
But what about some options outside the organization?
2. Kirk Cousins
It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Patriots to trade for Kirk Cousins like some are projecting, but that doesn't mean he won't end up in Foxborough after all.
Cousins is going to be 36 years old by the end of next season, but from what we've seen of quarterbacks in recent years we can probably expect that to mean he has another two or three good seasons left in him, and that's perfect.
Like it or not, Bill Belichick is not going to commit to a full "blow it up and rebuild" approach for as long as he's here. And that's understandable with the current state of this roster. There are still a lot of good pieces in place, include a defense with the potential to be among the league's best.
Cousins is a lot better than he often gets credit for, and when paired with a strong defense he'll make any team a legitimate playoff squad (though he probably also won't carry anyone to a Super Bowl).
Pro Football Focus has Cousins ranked No. 10 in the NFL in passing grade this season, and that comes after ranking No. 5 in 2021 and No. 7 in 2022.The last time he didn’t rank top-12 was 2018 (when he ranked 13th).
Knowing we would only have a couple-year window with Cousins, the Patriots could also spend a relatively high draft pick on a quarterback to develop — something Belichick was never shy about doing toward the latter part of Tom Brady's tenure.
3. Drake Maye
If things really go south down the stretch, the Patriots may well find themselves with a top-five draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
I don't see things going bad enough that we get a shot at Caleb Williams, but having our choice of the other top QB prospects is certainly realistic.
With what I said earlier about the Patriots not wanting to truly rebuild and what we saw with the Mac Jones selection (he was considered maybe the most pro-read QB in his class, even though he didn't have the highest ceiling), New England may not want to go with a boom-or-bust QB project. But sometimes the upside available is so high that you have to compromise and roll with someone who's a little raw.
North Carolina's Drake Maye is good enough to be worth that gamble. He's the prototype of the modern quarterback, who is a legitimate threat rushing the football, but who you can't simply label a "mobile quarterback."
He threw for 38 touchdowns for the Tar Heels in his first season as a starter in 2022, and he’s made strides by improving his completion percentage to 72.1% and his yards per attempt to 9.1 so far in 2023.
He doesn't protect the ball as well as you'd like to see, but you're always going to make some compromises with rookies.
The other factory that could bring Maye to New England? At this point it's no guarantee that Belichick is calling the shots by the end of the season. And a fresh face may be a lot more willing to roll the dice on a raw prospect (especially one with potential turnover issues) than we've become accustomed to for the Patriots over the years.
4. Ryan Tannehill
Shifting gears back to a Belichick type signing, Ryan Tannehill would serve a similar purpose to Kirk Cousins, but on a much smaller contract. Cousins will be highly sought after among teams that think they can contend, while Tannehill will probably fly under the radar a bit.
Tannehill hasn’t posted any particularly impressive numbers since 2019, but he’s also been playing in one of the NFL’s most run-heavy options while consistently being asked to play behind a shaky offensive line while throwing to a pretty uninspiring wide receiver corps. His play hasn't fallen off the way his numbers might suggest.
The veteran has been a top-12 quarterback by PFF's grades in two of the last four seasons, however, with ranks of 6th, 12th, 20th and 16th (2023) in that time.
He won't pick apart defenses the way Cousins is capable of, but he's not going to lose you games on his own, and he's absolutely capable of playoff contention on the right roster.
He'll be 36 years old next season as well, and you probably don't want Tannehill as your answer under center for as long as you'd want Cousins. But as a stop gap to play maybe a season and a half while your long-term answer gets up to speed at the NFL level?
Tannehill would be a viable, cost-effective option that wouldn't take the Pats out of the playoff hunt the way Mac Jones has.
5. Malik Cunningham
Malik Cunningham is a long-shot, but he may well get a shot to make his case for the starting role this season.
His potential opportunity is going to depend on how long the Patriots stick with Mac in 2023, but if he hits the bench soon then just about anything is on the table.
Once the playoffs are clearly out of reach, the primary concern will be figuring out what to do in the future. Initially, that will mean giving Bailey Zappe a long, hard look to figure out if he should be the guy in 2024. But if it becomes clear that Zappe isn't the franchise quarterback? Then there's little reason not to give Cunningham a shot.
Even if you don't think he's going to be the answer, what's the downside of figuring out what you have in the rookie? A couple extra losses, which end up giving you a better draft pick? That wouldn't exactly be the end of the world.
Cunningham is probably not the long-term answer at quarterback, but when a season goes as disastrously as this one has so far you really don't have the luxury to not explore every possible avenue.
In the meantime, it's going to be hard to back these Patriots. Whether it's Bailey Zappe or more Mac Jones under center, the Pats won't be favorites very often moving forward. But you'll get $200 guaranteed just for betting $5 on them at DraftKings Sportsbook — so it's not the end of the road for wagering on your favorite team. That guaranteed $200 bonus pays out instantly, meaning it automatically hits your account before you even find out if your bet won or lost, so you don't need to sweat the result of the game. Unlock your $200 before it expires by signing up through the exclusive Chowder and Champions link below!
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