Bailey Zappe waived by Patriots
FOXBORO -- The Patriots' quarterback room is a little less crowded, as the team has reportedly waived backup Bailey Zappe.
The move was first reported by Tom Pellisero of NFL Network on Tuesday, as NFL teams have to trim rosters to 53 players by 4 pm.
With Zappe now out of the mix, the Patriots will go with three quarterbacks in 2024: Likely starter Jacoby Brissett and rookies Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. Zappe could potentially join the New England practice squads, but there are a handful of teams in the NFL looking for a backup QB.
Zappe was 15-for-25 during the preseason, throwing for 137 yards. He only saw the field for New England's final drive last week against the Eagles and on Sunday against the Commanders, and his only pass in the preseason finale was when he spiked the ball to set up a last-second field goal attempt. In practice, Zappe usually got reps after the three aforementioned quarterbacks in practice, and took no snaps on a few occasions.
Zappe was waived as part of the team's final roster cuts ahead of last season, but cleared waivers and signed with the New England practice squad. He was signed to the Patriots' active roster ahead of their Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and ended up playing quite a bit for New England in 2023.
A fourth-round pick by the Patriots in 2022 out of Western Kentucky, Zappe played in 14 games over the last two seasons, including eight starts. Zappe started two games for an injured Mac Jones during his rookie season in 2022 and won both, which created a bit of a quarterback controversy in New England at the time.
While Jones got his starting job back that year, Zappe started the final six games of the regular season in 2023 after Jones was benched permanently. Zappe had been replacing Jones mid-game, but was named New England's starter following the team's embarrassing 10-7 loss to the New York Giants in Week 12.
Zappe didn't do much to change New England's season, as he went 2-4 as the starter and the Patriots finished 4-13. That earned New England the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which they used to draft Maye.