New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has had some tough quarterback decisions to make in the past couple of weeks. Mac Jones has been benched in back-to-back weeks and many are calling for some type of change at the position. While Belichick has confirmed Jones to be the starter for this week against the Raiders, he hinted at a possible switch to preseason darling Malik Cunningham down the road.
New England Patriots Bill Belichick On Malik Cunningham
Cunningham is “definitely trending towards” getting a chance to see game action according to Belichick. “He’s a smart kid, he works hard. The opportunities he’s had, he’s shown a lot of improvement doing them.” Cunningham would be a change of pace for the team. Jones is more of a pocket passer while Cunningham brings a dual-threat option that has been effective in the league. With how Jones has played, it doesn’t surprise me that Cunningham might get an opportunity. It is going to be hard for the Patriots to get worse on offense seeing as they have only been able to muster up three points in the last two games.
Time To Do Something
At some point, it is time to admit that Jones is not the answer at quarterback. The back half of the season for the Patriots is going to be one of evaluation. They need to see who is going to be a part of this team long-term and who they can move on from. It makes sense to see what they have in Cunningham before making a decision on the future. Cunningham looked good in the preseason but it is time to see whether that translates over to the regular season or not.
The Patriots are not looking good right now. Bill Belichick needs to push the right buttons and he seems to be hoping that Cunningham is the answer.