Here’s what Bill Belichick said about the Patriots’ quarterbacks, including Malik Cunningham

Patriots

Belichick did not say whether Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe would start against the Chargers in Week 13.

Bill Belichick during the Patriots’ loss to the Giants. AP Photo/Adam Hunger

Bill Belichick was asked about the Patriots’ quarterback situation during his Wednesday press conference. Once again, he declined to reveal whether Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe or anyone else would be named the starter ahead of the team’s home game against the Chargers on Sunday.

“I’m not going to make any announcements about our lineup at any position.” Belichick responded when asked how the quarterback depth chart was taking shape. “So, it doesn’t matter what the position is. We’ll see how practice goes, see if everyone is ready to go. Hopefully everyone is ready to go, see what the injury situation is and we’ll pick who we think is best on Sunday.”

Belichick was asked why he seemed to be taking the same approach to the situation as the week before (when he didn’t name a starter before Jones took the field to start against the Giants in a 10-7 loss in Week 12). .

“I didn’t say that,” he responded. “I said I’m not going to announce anything.”

As for how he views Jones’ performance (the third-year quarterback has thrown just 10 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions), Belichick took a broader view.

“We haven’t won enough games, so I don’t think anyone has played well enough,” he said. “We all need to do a better job.”

Aside from Jones and Zappe, undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham (who has appeared at receiver and quarterback in limited play in 2023) was a topic of discussion.

Belichick talked about how Cunningham has been used as a quarterback in practice, depending on the opponent that week.

“There are other players who are also practicing at quarterback,” Belichick said. “He’s not the only guy out there. And then he depends a little bit on the offense that we are seeing. If we see offenses that run plays that he’s very good at (teams like Philadelphia, Miami’s first game), then he gets, I mean, it’s practice squad reps, but it’s also reps of things that he does. .

“He’s a unique player,” Belichick added. “Things are not going well with him. He is probably different to all the other players we have in the team, so he handles it differently.”

The Patriots also re-signed another quarterback, Will Grier, to the practice squad after waiving him days earlier.

While he’s not likely to play, Belichick said Grier still needs to be “ready to play.”

“All players who are on the practice squad, unless they have used all of their practice squad lifts, are eligible to be elevated to the practice squad,” he explained. “Other players could be added to the squad, as we did with Conor (McDermott) last week, who was out of the lifts. So if they’re on the practice squad, they’re eligible and they’re getting ready. They should be ready to play and potentially are ready to play. “That includes everyone.”

New England, 2-9 through 11 games in the 2023 season, has been unable to find a rhythm on offense regardless of the quarterback. The Patriots currently rank 31st in the league in points scored.