Three Patriots quarterbacks took first-team reps in bye week practice

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien provided a rare peek behind the curtain of what transpired in practice last week as questions abound about the team’s starting quarterback situation.

The Patriots practiced just once last week on Wednesday before breaking for the bye, and the media saw Mac Jones take the initial quarterback reps with the team’s starting offensive line.

“The other day at practice, Mac took the first-team reps,” O’Brien said. “Bailey( (Zappe) rotated in there. Will Grier rotated in there.”

Jones was benched in last Sunday’s 10-6 loss to the Colts in Frankfurt Germany with less than two minutes remaining in the game for Zappe after throwing a red-zone interception on the previous drive. Zappe responded with his own interception to clinch the win for the Colts.

Zappe has struggled dating back to the spring, leading to his release during roster cuts. The Patriots initially signed Zappe to their practice squad before adding him to the 53-man roster ahead of Week 1. The second-year pro is 10-of-25 for 104 yards with an interception in three games in mop-up duty. He’s performed worse than Jones, who has now been benched in three games while completing 65.4% of his passes for 2,031 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interception in 10 games.

Grier has yet to play for the Patriots this season after being signed off of the Bengals’ practice squad in late September. The Patriots also have rookie quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham on their practice squad. He’s been active for one game against the Raiders, when he served as Jones’ backup but also played wide receiver. Cunningham was sacked in his only dropback that game. O’Brien answered a question about Cunningham as if he’s primarily working at wide receiver.

“I think the way we practice here there are plenty of reps to go around,” O’Brien said. “Now, can you do it with four guys? Three guys? No. For two guys, there’s enough reps to go around where everybody gets a shot at it.”

O’Brien said head coach Bill Belichick will decide who will start at quarterback Week 12 when the Patriots travel to New York to play the Giants.