Zappe knew he would ‘eventually be the starter’ after being cut by Patriots

Zappe knew he would ‘eventually be the starter’ after being cut by Patriots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

If you had told New England Patriots fans that Bailey Zappe would be their starting quarterback this year after he was cut back in August, not one would have believed you – but Zappe himself always knew it would happen.

In Thursday night’s Amazon Prime broadcast of the New England’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung reported that Zappe never had a doubt that he would end the year as the starting quarterback for the Patriots.

“Zappe said it was a wakeup call when he got cut by the Patriots in camp,” Hartung said. “As he signed with their practice squad the very next day, he told [Zach] Kittley [Zappe’s offensive coordinator from his college years], ‘trust me, I’ve got this. Eventually I’ll be the starter.”

After being cut by the Patriots, Zappe reportedly had multiple teams interested in signing him, but ultimately chose to sign with New England’s practice squad, believing it gave him the best opportunity to see playing time.

Mac Jones had already seen a decline in performance from his rookie to sophomore season, but things were expedited for Zappe’s path to starting after Jones’ third year turned into a disaster-ridden mess. Leading the Patriots to a 2-9 record, Jones posted just 2,120 yards on a 64.9 percent completion rate, throwing 12 interceptions to his 10 touchdowns. After being benched in his final few starts, the Patriots shifted to Zappe full time in their 6-0 Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

While Zappe’s first start on the year didn’t end with a win, the Patriots seemed rejuvenated. Things continued to improve for Zappe in Thursday night’s game against the Steelers, where he became the first Patriot quarterback since Tom Brady to throw for three first half touchdowns since Tom Brady in 2018. In the first half, Zappe also completed a 37-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster for the Patriots first…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/zappe-knew-eventually-starter-being-033209140.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2023-12-08 03:32:09

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