Patriots Mac Jones Honeymoon Over?

Some are suggesting the combination of Josh McDaniels' departure and Bailey Zappe's arrival is souring the relationship between New England and its Pro Bowl quarterback.

Once upon a time this was going to be such a promising year for Mac Jones.

He arrived in May at New England Patriots' offseason workouts in improved shape. He assumed a more aggressive leadership role. He even worked with Tom Brady's old throwing coach to improve his Pro-Bowl level passing mechanics.

But barely a month into the season, Jones finds himself recovering from a serious sprained and a slow start and in the midst - like all Patriots fans - of "Zappe Hour." While Jones threw an alarming five interceptions in 97 passes while New England stumbled to a 1-2 start, rookie third-stringer Bailey Zappe has become the darling of New England and one of the surprises of the NFL season in leading the Pats to two consecutive dominating wins and back to .500.

Combined with the offseason departure of former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and the Patriots' curious strategy to replace with him defensive-minded Matt Patricia, this all - according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer - isn't sitting too well with Jones.

Relations between both parties have gone “a little sideways” in the past few months, according to Breer in this week's The MMQB. Breer suggests that the series of events in New England — from the installation of a new offense to the fallout from Jones’ high-ankle sprain — have contributed to tension.

“I think things did get a little sideways really over the last couple of months,” Breer said on “Patriots Pregame Live” before last Sunday's victory over the Browns in Cleveland.

“I think it’s going back to the change from Josh McDaniels. ‘Why are we bringing in Joe Judge and Matt Patricia when Bill O’Brien’s sitting out there and potentially we could have made a run at him? Why does it make sense to have a defensive guy and a special teams guy here? Why are we changing the offense? Why are we streamlining after all the success I had?'”

Jones, the Patriots’ first-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft, had a successful rookie season under Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Judge and Patricia, who previously served as New England’s special teams and defensive coordinators, respectively, took the reins on offense, which led to an inconsistent training camp.

The plucky Zappe has replaced Jones and seemingly infused his team - and his town - with renewed energy. Zappe's QB ratings in his three appearances: 107.4 at the Green Bay Packers, 100.0 against the Detroit Lions and 118.4 at Cleveland. Jones' ratings in his three starts: 87.2 at the Miami Dolphins, 79.7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 62.1 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Breer added that he suspects the Patriots could look at what has transpired as of late in sending a potential message to Jones.

“I think that bled over into the injury now and I think this has sort of given the coaches an opportunity to send a message to Mac," he said. "I don’t think Mac was ever in jeopardy of losing his job, but I don’t think that they told Mac that either. I don’t think they said to Mac, ‘Hey listen, you’re good, don’t worry about how Bailey Zappe plays.' This is a chance for them to sort of send the message to Mac that you have to do things better. I think part of the message here is, watch what Bailey Zappe is doing. He’s doing what we’re telling him to, and watch how the offense works for him.”

The Patriots may not have themselves a quarterback controversy. But - entering Monday night's high-profile game against the Chicago Bears - they do at least have a quarterback choice.

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