Bill Belichick discusses the Matt Corral-Bailey Zappe backup QB battle
FOXBORO -- One thing was very clear after last week's roster moves: Mac Jones is the starting quarterback of the New England Patriots. After that, the position is a bit murky.
Bailey Zappe was released on cutdown day after struggling through the preseason, but signed with the team's practice squad the next day. So did Malik Cunningham, who continues to put in work as both a receiver and quarterback at practice.
The backup job was believed to be Zappe's upon his return, as the Patriots could elevate him on gamedays and save a spot on the 53-man roster in the early weeks of the season. But then the team went out and claimed Matt Corral on waivers, which gives the former Panthers quarterback a spot on the New England 53-man roster.
With that, many believed that Corral -- despite not playing a down for the Patriots -- would jump over Zappe on the depth chart. But on Monday, Bill Belichick said not to jump to any conclusions on the QB depth chart just yet.
Asked if Corral was ready to be the team's backup quarterback behind Jones in Week 1, Belichick pointed out that they haven't even seen Corral on the practice field yet.
"Yeah, I don't know," said Belichick. "He hasn't even been on the field yet. We'll see. ... Based on what we saw at Carolina and going back to the college film at Mississippi, he's a player we wanted to work with."
Corral will practice with the Patriots for the first time on Monday. He played in three preseason games for Carolina this summer, completing 28 of his 47 passes for 249 yards and an interception. He also ran the ball four times for 47 yards, including a 27-yard run against the Detroit Lions.
Belichick was also asked what went into the decision to cut Zappe, and spoke highly of the 2022 fourth-round pick.
"All the roster decisions are based on what we feel is best for our football team. And so it's a number of things involved there," said Belichick. "I'm glad that Bailey, we'll continue to work with him. We still think he's a good, young, developing player. So, we'll keep working with him."
While many of the team's roster battles have been decided, the battle to be Mac Jones' backup will wage on through the coming weeks.
