Fresh off of two of the worst losses of the Bill Belichick era in New England, things seem to only be getting worse for not only the Patriots, but more specifically, for their starting quarterback Mac Jones. Jones has been benched in each of the last two losses, and from the sounds of it, he'll be on an even shorter leash than before when the Patriots take on the Las Vegas Raiders.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Mac Jones will start the game for the Patriots, but could potentially be pulled after only one series if he plays poorly (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). The question then becomes, would the Patriots turn to Bailey Zappe, who has come in to relieve Mac Jones each of the last two games, Will Grier, who got a vote of confidence from Bill Belichick during the week, or undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham, who was called up from the practice squad and given a three-year deal this week.

The Patriots spent their 2021 1st Round pick on Mac Jones, and the initial results looked promising. Jones finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting and led the Patriots to a 10-7 record, good enough for a Wild Card berth in a crowded AFC. In the season and change since then, Jones has gone 7-12 as the Patriots starter and has thrown nearly as many interceptions (17) as he has touchdowns (19).

No matter what happens against the Raiders, it seems as though there has already been too much turmoil in New England for the Mac Jones pick to be salvaged. If New England picks near the top of the 2024, they'll surely consider one of the big name quarterbacks at the top of the draft board.