As the NFL enters the preseason, the New England Patriots have one of the more interesting quarterback rooms.
Journeyman Jacoby Brissett has been anointed the team’s starter by head coach Jerod Mayo, while Drake Maye, the third overall pick, is in the waiting. Plus, there’s Bailey Zappe.
The 25-year-old Zappe, a fourth-round selection of the Patriots in 2022, showed promise in his rookie season but appeared to falter in the second. Could this be the beginning of something new? Zappe was included in the list of five quarterbacks that NFL teams “must pursue,” compiled by David Kenyon of Bleacher Report.
On August 4, Kenyon wrote, “Bailey Zappe needs a change of scenery following two years of chaos with the New England Patriots,” and then he named a sensible trade partner.
Maye wasn’t taken by the Pats to sit him indefinitely. Maye will be the next man up, regardless of whether Brissett starts the season as the starter. As a result, Zappe is now a third-string player with little chance of moving up the depth chart. Zappe would prefer to play for a team where he can challenge to replace an experienced QB2; the Carolina Panthers, with Andy Dalton, spring to mind.
Is Bailey Zappe, the quarterback, likely to be traded by the New England Patriots?
In March, the Pats acquired Maye as their franchise quarterback of the future, sending previous first-round pick QB Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also brought back Brissett, who spent just one season with the team in 2016, to start as Maye develops.
Zappe is now behind rookie quarterback Joe Milton III in the team’s depth chart. Zappe, who has made eight starts in his two seasons, is now the odd man out and could be a trade option as a result.
In his two starts as a rookie in 2022, Zappe went 2-0. That year, he completed 70.7% of his throws for 781 yards, three interceptions, and five touchdowns. He completed 59.9% of his throws for 1,272 yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 10 games (six starts) during the previous season.
Zappe could find it intriguing to go to the Panthers. Though by no means proven, Bryce Young is expected to lead the squad in Year 2 as the starting quarterback. Dalton is probably nearing the end of his career; he turns 37 in October.
Zappe would by no means be joining a legendary team if he chose to attend Carolina. The Panthers have finished in the bottom three spots in the division three times in the previous six years, without a winning season since 2017. Even so, that might be his greatest chance to contend for a QB2 place.
Brissett Jacoby All Set to Be Patriots’ QB1 and Drake Maye’s Mentor
Daniel Mark
@ByMarkDaniels · Mark Daniels
Adhere to Drake Maye: “I think I’m distributing it fairly effectively.”
1:29 PM · August 2, 2024, 721 Response
Regardless of Zappe’s decision, Brissett will be a reliable, experienced mentor. According to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, Brissett stated, “I’m probably the perfect person to mentor the guys in my room, but I’m also the perfect person for this job to start.”
“I take that very seriously. I initially came here to play. I want my teammates to know that I’m here to start, but that everything that comes with me comes with me every time I step onto the field. My goal is to play and win games while I’m here.
As training camp has gone on, Maye has been showing indications of improvement, and Brissett has nothing but praise for her.
Regarding Drake, Brissett remarked, “He’s gotten better each and every day, and that’s all you can ask for, all of us.”
“I’m out there every single day attempting to improve. We will all eventually need one another, therefore I want my teammates to see me going out there and our room improving every single day.
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