New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick declined to give quarterback Mac Jones a ringing endorsement Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting’s AFC head coaches breakfast.

Belichick was asked if there will be a quarterback competition between Jones and 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe this spring and summer.

"Well, everybody will get a chance to play,” Belichick said. “We'll play the best player."

Belichick noted that’s the case at every position.

This is a pretty typical Belichick answer regarding starting roles before the season begins, but he has been more emphatic in the past when asked about Tom Brady and Cam Newton’s spot as the top QB.

Jones, who was the best rookie quarterback of the 2021 NFL Draft class, took a step back in 2022 and went 6-8 as a starter while completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,997 yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Zappe was 2-0 as a starter and completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 781 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions in four appearances while Jones was out with a high ankle sprain. Zappe played most of a game Jones started against the Chicago Bears and struggled before giving the starting job back to Jones the next week.

The Patriots don’t currently have a third quarterback on their roster after releasing Brian Hoyer.

Jones was saddled with two inexperienced offensive coaches in Matt Patricia and Joe Judge last season. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm have replaced their roles and should help whoever plays QB for the Patriots this season.

New England lost wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor, tight end Jonnu Smith and running back Damien Harris this offseason and replaced them with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end MIke Gesicki and running back James Robinson. There's still a potential to add another wide receiver through free agency, a trade or the draft.

Jones was caught on camera showing signs of frustration last season at times. Belichick wasn’t going to dwell on the past when asked if he had an issue with how his QB conducted himself.

“We’re looking ahead to 2023 here,” Belichick said. “I’m not going to go back and rehash 2022.”

Jones is certainly the favorite to start for the Patriots in 2023, but Zappe showed enough last season to potentially be able to push him in training camp. New England met with a top quarterback prospect, Anthony Richardson, at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. It would be difficult to make the money work, but Lamar Jackson is available and announced Monday that he requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this month.

"I'm not going to talk about players on any other team,” Belichick said about Jackson.

He didn’t elaborate when it was pointed out that Jackson, who was franchise tagged by the Ravens, is a free agent.

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