Patriots' Shocking Week 7 Quarterback Plans Revealed

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I say Mac Jones needs to be replaced. But not many Patriots fans expected Bill Belichick to be on board so quickly.

Patriots insider Greg Bedard revealed when Mac Jones may be benched, and that there are already plans for who will replace Jones in the starting lineup.

Bedard reported that if Jones doesn’t “succeed this week” against the Las Vegas Raiders it could cost him his starting job. And if he loses the job? It will be Will Grier, not Bailey Zappe or Malik Cunningham, taking over.

Honestly, it's not hard to see the argument behind benching Jones if he struggles again.

The Pats would, in all likelihood, be 1-5 at that point. In the hyper-competitive AFC, that all but eliminates them from playoff contention already. And even with one year left on his contract, missing the playoffs would all but confirm that Mac is not part of the Patriots' plans for 2024 and beyond.

So then begins the tryouts for the starting QB job.

Grier has clearly won the coaches' favor, so he'll get the first shot at it. If he struggles, expect it to be a pretty quick transition to Zappe, and then another quick one to Cunningham if needed.

There's no downside to losing games at this point — nobody thinks this team is a contender, and losing will only improve the value of the Patriots' draft picks.

The Patriots' 2024 starting quarterback may well be someone who isn't on the roster yet, but there's no reason not to get a long, hard look at the in-house options while we can.

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