Bill Belichick: Patriots Won't Name Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe QB1 Until Giants Game

If this were poker, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would be bluffing with a dead man's hand right now.

Belichick declined to name starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. He said he "told everyone to be ready to go" and that "he'll let you know on Sunday" when asked directly about who will start under center.

Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Will Grier are all listed on the active roster for Week 12.

Especially at the college level, coaches love playing their cards close to their chest to maintain some sort of strategic advantage. In theory, you force your opponent to draw up a defensive scheme around two or more quarterbacks.

The plan doesn't really work, though, when none of your available options is particularly good.

Jones has thrown for 2,031 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through 10 games. Even worse, he no longer appears to have the confidence of his coach or teammates.

With the 2021 first-round pick getting the lion's share of snaps, the Patriots are 22nd in passing yards (199.6 per game) and 26th in quarterback rating (77.4).

And Jones is the best New England's QB room has to offer.

Zappe has 104 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and an 18.6 QBR in his three games this year. Grier hasn't logged a regular-season snap since 2019. And Malik Cunningham, who's on the practice squad, signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent and has yet to throw a pass in the NFL.

The Giants coaching staff won't exactly be losing sleep waiting to see which of the four Belichick selects.