By CJ Carlson
The New England Patriots haven’t had a good season. Normally, this results in a ton of different things getting mismanaged and screwed up. However, it was the quarterback room that really stood out. See, when the Patriots decided that neither Mac Jones nor Bailey Zappe was the answer to their offensive issues, they had implied that both Will Grier and Malik Cunningham could get their own opportunity. Instead, that never happened.
It was recently reported that the Patriots organization told Will Grier in particular that he could be given the keys to the offense if Zappe didn’t work out as the backup option. The report states, “Newly signed backup Will Grier was never a serious consideration, per sources, despite being told he could compete for playing time.
That left Jones all alone in a quarterback’s room that sources familiar with the room paint as quiet and uncomfortable.” Grier stayed in the Patriots franchise until December 18th when he saw an opening on the Los Angeles Chargers following Justin Herberts season ending injury.
The New England Patriots Did The Same Thing To Cunningham
On top of the Grier situation, New England did the same thing to Malik Cunningham. He really impressed throughout the preseason and was hanging around on the practice squad. Eventually, he got signed to the active roster, but played just six offensive snaps before being cut a week and a half later. During this stretch, it was reported that the team was putting a package of plays together for Cunningham to really showcase his ability.
And let’s be honest, it’s not like they had many better options under center at this stage in the season. Cunningham stuck around until December 12th, when he realized that he just wasn’t going to be given the opportunity he desired. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens afterwards.
Funny enough, after he signed with Baltimore, there were players on the New England Patriots that openly applauded his decision to leave and sign with somebody who will utilize him correctly. There were even organization members that told Cunningham that he was making the right choice. One source said, “they just had no plan for Malik.” Now, the team has Nathan Rourke as their third stringer, but it’s likely we will see them draft a quarterback in the top five next year.
