New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien praised quarterback Mac Jones for his attitude after taking a backseat to Bailey Zappe.
Zappe has started in the last four games for the Patriots and has gone 2-2 while under center. He is coming off a 26-23 victory over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve, when he threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
Jones was once heralded as the future for New England. The 2021 first-round draft pick has seen his stock take quite the hit. He has been benched in multiple games this season and has not played since November 26 against the New York Giants.
Even still, O’Brien believes Jones is taking it well, as transcribed by WEEI’s Mike Kadlick.
“I feel good about Mac Jones,” said O’Brien. “I really do. I think Mac Jones is a smart guy. He’s a very hard worker. He’s really done a good job in this situation here of being a good teammate. Look, these are things that happen in the course of a lot of careers. You have some ups and downs. He’s approached it the right way. I believe in Mac. I think Mac is going to be just fine.”
It has been quite the role reversal for Jones and Zappe, who is now being given the chance to prove himself. The second-year quarterback hasn’t wasted the opportunity. If anything, he’s making it significantly harder to consider ever going back to Jones.
