In a stunning move, the Patriots cut Bailey Zappe on Tuesday afternoon, a source told MassLive.
The second-year quarterback underwhelmed this summer but was still expected to serve as Mac Jones’ backup in 2023. With Malik Cunningham also being released and Trace McSorely cut on Monday, that leaves Jones as the lone quarterback left on the roster.
The Patriots are hoping to get both Zappe and Cunningham to the practice squad, per another source, but they’ll have to clear waivers to get there.
In New England’s preseason finale at Tennessee, Zappe was lifted in the third quarter but then reinserted and finished the game. Playing late in the final preseason game is usually an indicator that a player is on unsteady footing, but Bill Belichick didn’t give that idea much credence when asked about the odd quarterback rotation.
“We wanted to give Trace [McSorley] some snaps as well, earlier in the game, not just wait until the end, and then we played Malik a little bit too,” Belichick said. “It was mostly a Bailey game, but we wanted to give the other two quarterbacks some opportunities as well.”
It’ll be fascinating to see where Belichick goes from here.
Story by Chris Mason, Mark Daniels, MassLive.com.
