What Mac Jones Revealed About The Infamous Patriots QB 'Battle' with Bailey Zappe
The New England Patriots were a total mess in 2023. It was Bill Belichick's final season on the sideline, the team was about to embark on their first of back-to-back four win seasons and it was seemingly like a good time to focus more on the Boston Celtics than the football team.
Part of that was because of the play of the Patriots' two quarterbacks: Mac Jones, the former first round pick who had made a Pro Bowl in his first season, and Bailey Zappe, the second-year backup who stole the hearts of New England (briefly) during his short time as the starter one year prior.
But 2023 is where it all came to a crashing halt. Jones had begun the season strong, throwing for more than 300 yards in Week 1. But a stretch of bad showings, including a historically-bad interception in a dreadful loss to the Indianapolis Colts overseas, forced the coaching staff to roll with Zappe.
It wasn't a smooth transition by any stretch of the imagination. Jones had previously been replaced by Zappe halfway through the 2022 season, and it wasn't like Zappe gave the team that much better of a chance to start winning football games.
The two-quarterback system wasn't working, and it was evident throughout all six New England states. Now Jones, who's settled in as the San Francisco 49ers' backup, is breaking his silence about what those seasons were like for him.
Talking on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast with former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, Jones was asked about the final two years of his New England tenure and what his relationship with Zappe was like.
"It was really weird. The communication wasn't great," Jones said. "It was weird. Honestly, it was weird for both of us. We were both young and it was really the second year, too, when we had like Matty P and stuff. He went in there and played really good, which was awesome. But, it was kind of weird because it was my team. I felt like that. I felt like I deserved that shot.
"It just felt weird. There was two guys, you know? But Zappe, he was cool. He worked hard and that's pretty much it. We weren't really close friends or anything."
2022 Was The Start Of The QB Rift
After Jones had gotten hurt in the final seconds of a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in 2022, and second-string Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion one week later, Zappe -- the Western Kentucky rookie -- got his first taste of NFL action against the Green Bay Packers. He took the game to overtime, where the Patriots would lose on a field goal.
But the following weeks turned into something special. Zappe led the team to back-to-back wins against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, and there was real conversations being had about what would happen to Jones.
Then came the Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears. Jones returned to the starting lineup, only to be replaced by Zappe after a couple drives. The backup came in, threw a touchdown to Jakobi Meyers and stayed in the game in what turned into a 33-14 loss.
"I got hurt, we played the Bears, and I was ready to play, but they were kind of like, 'We're gonna alternate you guys,'" Jones said. "And I was like, 'I just went to the Pro Bowl last year.' Like, I wasn't terrible my first couple of games. I'm not proven, I'm not saying I've arrived. But at least let me have a chance to go out there."
Jones eventually re-replaced Zappe in Week 8, leading the Patriots to five wins as they missed the postseason by just one game. It was a mess, but there was some hope.
In 2023, it went downhill. By their bye week in Week 11, the Patriots were 2-8. They couldn't score any points against the Colts one week prior, and after Jones' interception, Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien had seen enough.
Jones' Final Patriots Game Was In Germany Against Indianapolis
They yanked Jones, put in Zappe (who also threw an interception in that game) and left him in for the rest of the season. New England only won two more games that year (a Thursday Night game at Pittsburgh and a Christmas Eve thriller against Denver). Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars that following offseason before landing in San Francisco.
"They were like blowing it up in the media and stuff. So it was just kind of sloppy," Jones said. "I saw (Zappe) at the end of the game last year. He's on the Browns at the time, like dapped him up. We're cool, but you know how it is? It's just kind of awkward.
"Like it was a bad year, we didn't win that many games, there was a lot of media hype between the battle of what was going on. It was tough. We were both like first and second-year players pretty much."
Zappe's tenure in New England didn't last much longer. Belichick was out as head coach in January, and Jerod Mayo was brought on to try and kickstart some sort of change. Despite Zappe taking on a meaningful role as a backup to Drake Maye in the preseason, he was released that summer.
It was a tumultuous few years, both for the Patriots and their two quarterbacks. Now looking back on it, Jones is understanding of it all.
"I get it all," he admitted, "but it was just weird."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as What Mac Jones Revealed About The Infamous Patriots QB 'Battle' with Bailey Zappe.
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 4:30 AM.