Only hours earlier, Belichick continued to leave the media in the dark about who the starter would be. Jones entered his second season this fall as the starter coming off of a Pro Bowl rookie campaign but suffered a high-ankle sprain towards the end of the team’s Week 3 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.

Journeyman Brian Hoyer started Week 4 vs. the Green Bay Packers, but went down with a concussion, paving the way for rookie Bailey Zappe to make his NFL debut. Zappe helped lead the Patriots to a near-upset against Green Bay, before falling in overtime, and helped New England capture back-to-back victories in Weeks 5 and 6 against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns respectively.

Jones returned to the gridiron in Week 7 but was removed from the contest after the third offensive series. He finished the “Monday Night Football” loss to the Chicago Bears having gone 3-for-6 for 13 yards and one interception, with the pick being his last play before heading to the bench.

However, Belichick said that the timing of the quarterback change didn’t have to do with Jones’ interception. Zappe played the rest of the contest and finished 14-for-22 for 185 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, while coughing up one fumble as well.