Devin McCourty indicates QB controversy extended into the locker room
Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty had an interesting nugget about the quarterback room last year, as Mac Jones gets set to enter his third year.
McCourty indicated some players preferred rookie Bailey Zappe over Jones.
Zappe filled in for Jones while the latter was recovering from injury. The Western Kentucky product threw for 781 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions during his time as a starter.
Zappe last played against the Chicago Bears last October, as Jones struggled throughout the evening. From there, a quarterback controversy ensued between fans and media with some fans preferring Zappe over Jones.
McCourty indicated there was a divide in the locker room as well, 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. We never were solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing. There was never true hope.”
It will be intriguing to see how Jones fares in his third year with expectations being higher than ever.
The Patriots have done a better job of putting pieces around the quarterback, which could potentially alleviate any locker room divide with better performance. Even still, this was very telling of how last season went on the offensive side of the football.
