In the immediate aftermath of the Patriots Week 5 loss to the Saints, Bill Belichick spoke of the need to start over. The following week as the team headed to Las Vegas, the lone significant difference in the lineup was the addition of Malik Cuningham to the active roster as the backup quarterback.
It was a curious decision by Belichick, putting an undrafted rookie from the practice squad in a potentially important position as the Patriots main layer of insurance behind Mac Jones. Bailey Zappe, who served as the backup during the first five games, was listed as the emergency quarterback and therefore was unavailable to play unless both Jones and Cunningham were unavailable.
So, if Jones went down with an injury during the first series of the game, it might have been Cunningham for better or worse. Given Cunningham’s lack of experience, and the fact that he’s spent the bulk of his time with the team trying to transition to wide receiver, Belichick likely would have used Zappe in that scenario and therefore lost both players for the remainder of the game.
But what if Jones was forced out temporarily with a minor problem and had to miss a couple of series? In that case Cunningham would have had to handle things because using Zappe then would have eliminated the possibility of Jones or Cunningham returning.
The choice, coupled with an NFL Network report indicating that Jones was “on a short leash” after being pulled from consecutive losses in Weeks 4 and 5, seemed strange. While Jones was not as ineffective as he had been in those prior defeats, he failed to muster much offense in the first half and tossed another ill-advised interception while rolling to his right and throwing back to the left, overthrowing an open Hunter Henry on his final attempt of the opening half.
If he were indeed on a short leash, surely that would have been a spot that Belichick would think about making a move. Only given the pregame lineup choice, he didn’t really have that option. If Belichick went to Zappe, that would have meant Jones and Cunningham would no longer be available for the rest of the game. That’s the way the emergency quarterback rule is designed. If he went with Cunningham, it’s hard to imagine the rookie would have been sufficiently prepared to run the entire scope of the offense.
Had Zappe been the backup, Belichick could have simply had Cunningham active in place of another player (Jalen Reagor saw 14 snaps at wide receiver and Mike Onwenu did not play at all as he recovers from an ankle injury) and not necessarily serve as the emergency QB. That way Cunningham still could have been included in the package of plays the team designed with him in mind (he took six snaps).
Instead, if Jones got injured the Patriots would have had to finish the game with either Cunningham at quarterback or played the rest of the way without both players while Zappe finished up. It all but eliminated the notion of Jones being on a short leash before the game even began.
In the end Jones remained healthy throughout and aside from those who may have wanted to see a quarterback change it had no bearing on the outcome of the game. Still, it seemed like an unnecessary risk to take for a team desperately searching for a win as the season is crumbling.
“We’ll continue to evaluate that going forward,” was all Belichick had to say on the topic of Cunningham’s ascension the day after the Raiders loss. But how he might have handled an adverse situation had it arisen remains unclear.
What also is unclear is the backup quarterback spot as a whole. Belichick clearly wasn’t satisfied with Zappe coming out of camp given his choice to release the second-year pro before bringing him back after he cleared waivers. Since then, he’s brought in Matt Corral, Ian Book and Will Grier, and now he’s tinkering with an expanding role for Cunningham.
As Jones continues to struggle and his future is further discussed, it’s hard to envision Belichick having any true options in his place.
2023-10-17 14:36:39
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