Patriots Daily: Baily Zappe is Signing With the Browns

Former New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe is reported to have found a new NFL home. Zappe signed with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad on Aug. 28, a day after being released by the Patriots. According to reports, the Cleveland Browns have signed Zappe to their 53-man roster off of Kansas City’s practice squad.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the news.

A new QB in Cleveland: The #Browns are signing Bailey Zappe off the #Chiefs practice squad, per sources.

With Deshaun Watson’s season over and Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s status in flux, Jameis Winston could start Sunday vs. Baltimore and Zappe would back him up. pic.twitter.com/drBj6rtKEZ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 22, 2024

Cleveland Browns starter Deshaun Watson tore his ACL in Week 7 and will miss the rest of the season. Dorian Thompson-Robinson replaced him in the game but injured his finger, forcing emergency quarterback Jameis Winston into action. Thompson-Robinson’s injury is not considered serious, but Zappe gives the Browns a quarterback replacement for Watson on the 53-man roster and an insurance policy should Thompson-Robinson’s injury be worse than expected.

The Rise and Fall of Zappe Mania

New England drafted Bailey Zappe in the fourth round (No. 137 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. He began his rookie season as QB3, behind Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer, but in Week 4 after injuries to both. Zappe made his first NFL start in Week 5 and was impressive. He became the first rookie quarterback to win his first two NFL starts while posting a QB Rating of 100+ in each game during the Super Bowl Era. Mac Jones returned to start the following week against the Bears. Zappe fans voiced their displeasure. The Patriots brought Zappe in relief against Chicago but his magical run came to an end. It was his last game action of 2022.

The Patriots gave Bailey Zappe a longer look in 2023, largely due to Mac Jones’ struggles. Zappe was unable to replicate his rookie magic. In 2022 Zappe completed 70.7% of his passes while throwing five touchdowns and three interceptions. Zappe completed only 59.9% of his passes in 2023 while throwing six touchdown passes against nine interceptions. He remained with New England through training camp this season, but the Patriots opted to keep three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster: Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, and Joe Milton III.

Now Bailey Zappe is back on a 53-man NFL roster with the potential to resurrect his career in Cleveland.

Also in Tuesday’s Patriots Daily:

Patriots Fact of the Day

New England Patriots QB Drake Maye became the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 500 yards and five touchdowns in their first two NFL starts. The group now consists of:

1983 – Dan Marino, Miami
1988 – Mark Rypien, Washington
2001 – Todd Baumann, Minnesota
2024 – Drake Maye, New England

Post of the Day

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick figured out how to garner attention as a media member pretty quickly. On “The Pat McAfee Show” yesterday he stated he felt bad for his former defensive players after Jerod Mayo called them soft.

"The Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year and they still have a lot of those players..

I'm hurt for those guys because they're not soft..

I feel bad for the defensive players because they're all tough players" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wVN9ufcNMg

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 21, 2024

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Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo: ‘We’re a Soft Football Team’ – After the team’s 32-16 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, Mayo stated they were soft. They got dominated by a 1-5 team on the ground. (Note: Mayo walked his comments back on Monday, claiming he meant they played soft, not that they were soft)

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