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Bill Belichick Keeping Patriots' QB Circus Going in Week 13

Head coach Bill Belichick is opting to keep the New England Patriots' quarterback circus going in Week 13.
Isaiah De Los Santos
Isaiah De Los Santos

Chowder and Champions

Nov 5, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots' quarterback situation has been an all-out mess throughout the 2023 season. Lackluster play from Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe leaves this team without much of an answer, but the recent secrecy around who will be starting each week certainly hasn't helped.

Even though withholding this information from his own players backfired in Week 12, it seems head coach Bill Belichick is planning to do the same thing again for this Sunday's contest.

At Wednesday's press conference, Belichick once again kept info at a minimum. He said he's "not prepared to make any announcement" on who the starter will be, adding "everybody has a job to do."

This just ensures the QB circus will continue in Week 13, and that's frustrating to say the least. Now Jones and Zappe are set to split reps again in practice despite the team being fully aware of what guy is each capable of at this point.

This dual-quarterback setup leaves New England without one signal caller who's fully prepared given they're not receiving the entire workload in Week 13 preparations.

Belichick could put either Jones or Zappe in the best position possible to succeed by naming one as starter from the jump and committing to them. Even if the choice backfires, at least the team gave that guy the opportunity with their full support behind him.

Instead, Belichick's indecision is directly hurting his team. He won't even discuss the possibility of the recently re-signed Will Grier getting some reps off of the practice squad, which is just unnecessary secrecy.

However, it appears as long as Belichick remains coach, his stubbornness on this issue will follow.

In other Patriots news:

Isaiah De Los Santos

Isaiah De Los Santos

Isaiah is a University of Wisconsin alum whose past sports media stops include SB Nation and SLAM Magazine. Once solely centered on the NBA, he now covers every major sport, with a big focus on providing quality news coverage to fans. If he's not playing or watching sports, he's likely trying to rack up wins in Fortnite.