Caleb Harris
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Bailey Zappe is in a difficult situation. While he remains on the New England Patriots roster as the team continues to go through OTAs, his path to playing time has become murky at best. In recent months, the head coach who drafted him parted ways with the franchise, and the new regime signed veteran Jacoby Brissett as a free agent while drafting two rookies, including Drake Maye with the third overall pick.
Translation: Zappe is fighting for a spot on the squad.
But don’t believe me, head coach Jerod Mayo referred to Zappe’s situation as “weird” before Wednesday’s OTA session, while Brissett characterized him as the “elephant in the room” when speaking to the media after practice.
Despite what appears to be an uphill climb, Zappe appears to be embracing the competition.
“They bring guys in every year, obviously,” the third-year quarterback said of the team’s additions at the position. “They want everyone to compete and that’s what they tell us all the time: everyone will have an opportunity and everyone will compete. As Mayo says, it depends on what you do with that opportunity.”
During Wednesday’s session, Zappe got the second most reps, behind Brissett and ahead of Maye. When asked shortly after practice, the former fourth-rounder said his mindset remains that he is competing to be a starter.
“They told all of us there will be a competition,” he said. “Everyone will have the opportunity to go out there and prove they can be that guy. The four of us will do our best to do that, and then whoever gets that job, the other three will help that guy do everything he can on the field to win games.”
If there is true competition for the Week 1 job, Brissett appears to be the leader on the club based on the reps and limited viewership we’ve seen so far this spring. That said, whoever wins the job is ultimately just warming up the spot for when Maye is ready to move up to the starting role.
“This is a difficult situation for him and he has accepted it,” Brissett said of Zappe’s position. “He goes out there every day and competes and is doing a really good job and making a lot of plays. I’m excited about his growth.”
“I think he handled it fantastically,” Mayo said before practice when asked about Zappe. “Look, he’s getting reps here. You see him here, and I would say he’s improving.”
What will be interesting to monitor in the coming weeks/months is how New England proceeds at the quarterback position. Not only will the reps be dissected, but whether or not they take four quarterbacks to training camp will be a storyline in and of itself. If they plan to start training camp with just three, it could be a competition between Zappe and rookie Joe Milton III for the final spot.
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