Bill Belichick is not ready to name his No. 2 quarterback just quite yet.
The Patriots open up the season against the Eagles on Sunday, and Mac Jones will be the starter, but it remains to be seen whether Bailey Zappe or Matt Corral will be the backup.
Zappe, last year’s backup who went 2-0 in starts in relief of Jones, was shockingly released before the Patriots brought him back on the practice squad last week.
New England claimed Corral off waivers from the Panthers.
Belichick was asked if Corral is in line to be the backup.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Belichick answered, as covered by NESN.
“He hasn’t even been on the field yet. We’ll see.”
Bill Belichick declined to specify whether Matt Corral or Bailey Zappe is the team’s backup quarterback for Week 1 against the Eagles. Getty ImagesHe was also asked about the dynamics of bringing back Zappe after previously waiving him.
“All the roster decisions are based on what we feel like is best for our football team,” Belichick said Monday.
“There’s a number of things involved there. But glad to have Bailey and continue to work with him. I still think he’s a good, young, developing player, so we’ll keep working with him.”
Belichick explained that he liked what he saw on film from Corral at Ole Miss.
The Patriots waived Bailey Zappe before signing him back to the practice squad. Getty Images“We’ll take a look at him and see how it goes,” Belichick told WEEI, according to the Boston Herald.
“[Corral] had a very good career at Mississippi, and hasn’t really had a lot of chances to do much in the last two years; was injured and missed some time. But [he] had a good preseason, so we’ll see how it goes. Look forward to working with him.”
Earlier this offseason, Belichick took some time before announcing Jones as the starter.
Jones had a strong rookie campaign in 2021 that culminated in a playoff berth but struggled last season after offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels became the head coach of the Raiders and Belichick had Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the offense.
The Patriots claimed Matt Corral off waivers from the Panthers. Getty ImagesThis offseason, Bill O’Brien was hired to return as New England’s offensive coordinator.
Last month, Jones spoke about having a “fresh start” this season.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve all talked about is just having a fresh start. I think there’s a lot of learning experiences from last year that we’ve talked about and this year, it’s all about just working together, right?” Jones said.
“You’ve got to come up with a plan, obviously talk about it, and then execute it. So, I’m excited for that part of it.”
