Devin McCourty Admits Patriots Were Split Between Mac Jones And Bailey Zappe During Last Season

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Moving the football was an issue for the New England Patriots during the 2022 NFL season. While the offense as a whole struggled mightily, the Pats averaging just 208 yards passing per game paints a very clear picture of how grim things were.

Much of the poor offensive output falls on the shoulders of Mac Jones who saw his completion percentage drop in year two compared to his rookie campaign while throwing just 14 touchdowns in 14 games a season ago.

Jones missed time after picking up an ankle injury in Week 3, which paved the way for Bailey Zappe to take over. The Western Kentucky product went 2-2 in his four appearances and became a fan favorite in New England given his slightly more exciting playing style.

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Bailey Zappe put plenty of pressure on Mac Jones last season. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

While Zappe's stint as the starter was a short one, recently retired Patriot Devin McCourty admitted that the locker room was split at times about who should get the nod as QB1 last season.

"I think player-wise there was enough trust that we’re going to put the best guy out there," McCourty said in an interview with WEEI. "But the struggles on offense, I think there were some guys in the locker room that were like ‘Let’s go with 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."

While this story from McCourty may add a bit more pressure on Jones heading into the 2023 campaign, it was already going to be an incredibly important season for the Alabama product as he needs to take a significant step forward in his third year in the league.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.