The New England Patriots' decision to make Mac Jones a healthy scratch and their emergency quarterback for Sunday's loss to the New York Jets surprised some, but the quarterback wasn't shocked by the decision.

Jones told Patriots.com's Evan Lazar that he “wasn't surprised” by the Patriots' decision to scratch him on Sunday, noting that he didn't receive many snaps during practice this past week, a usual sign that a team doesn't plan to play a certain player.

The Patriots' decision to not play Jones at all wasn't necessarily a surprise. He struggled for much of the season, particularly in his final few games before being benched as he threw four interceptions over his final 2.5 games before being benched. Additionally, Bailey Zappe matched the number of games Jones won this season (two) by his fourth start.

But it was certainly a telling decision that the Patriots opted not to make Jones a part of the active roster for Sunday's game, especially for Nathan Rourke. The former Canadian Football League player joined the Patriots in the middle of December after the Jaguars released him, though he was only on Jacksonville's active roster for a week as he was on its practice squad prior to that. He's also yet to have appeared in an NFL game.

There was a case though that Zappe should've been benched at some point in Sunday's 17-3 loss. The second-year quarterback completed just 12 of 30 passes for 88 yards and two interceptions with a 20.1 passer rating.

What Bill Belichick said of the Patriots' decision not to suit up Mac Jones for Sunday's game

In what might have been Belichick's final game with the franchise, some speculated that his decision to make Jones a healthy scratch was out of spite. But Belichick explained that it was more about Rourke than it was about Jones.

“Nathan had a good week of practice,” Belichick said. “You know, we activated him for the second spot.”