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New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe is gearing up to start in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers, league sources told The Athletic.
Zappe, the second-year signal caller from Western Kentucky, showed promise as a rookie during two starts in 2022. He took over for quarterback Mac Jones late in four games this year but hasn’t shown a lot of promise this time around with 158 yards and two interceptions.
In addition to The Athletic’s report, Zappe dropped a potential hint on Wednesday in the locker room according to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran. Zappe commented “I’m going [to the podium] tomorrow” when reporters approached him after practice.
WBZ TV’s Don Roche clarified that Zappe didn’t mention the podium himself, however. It may not negate Curran’s report since Zappe took on a bigger role at practice when the media was watching on Wednesday.
Bailey Zappe: ‘Great Practice’
Zappe also called it a “great practice” when he briefly talked with Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar. Instead of Jones, Zappe and rookie Malik Cunningham took the practice reps during the open media session on Wednesday.
In addition, MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported that Zappe “took the bulk of the first-team reps” during Wednesday’s practice. The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed also reported that Zappe had the “most” reps on Wednesday.
Jones hasn’t made headway in year three with 2,210 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He already had a down second-year in 2022, and his numbers this year are looking worse amid the team’s 2-9 start.
As for Cunningham, he hasn’t seen time at quarterback in a game beyond the preseason and a brief appearance against the Las Vegas Raiders in October. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said on Wednesday that Cunningham has been taking quarterback reps on the practice squad throughout the season.
Mac Jones Needs to be Inactive, Insider Says
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer took things a step further and suggested that the Patriots make Jones inactive for Sunday’s game.
“I don’t think they should give him a jersey on Sunday,” Breer said during NBC Sports Boston’s “Boston Sports Tonight” on Wednesday. “I think Malik Cunningham, Will Grier, whoever you want to be the backup, have them be the backup.”
“If the idea here is what’s best for Mac Jones — very clearly the guy has the yips,” Breer added. “It looks like he needs to sit down and reset a little bit. So if you’re gonna bench the guy, don’t give him a jersey.
Jones’ quarterback rating has been under 80 in every game for November, and he has thrown at least one interception in four-consecutive games. In addition, he has completed fewer than 60% of his passes in two of the past three games.
“Teams make this mistake way too many times where they take the guy who needs to sit down and they make him the backup, and then all of a sudden the starter gets hurt and you’re throwing the guy out there,” Breer said.
“You’ve defeated the purpose of the whole thing. So if the idea here is to sit down Mac Jones, make him pay for the last few weeks and give him a little bit of a reset, the right thing to do is to make him inactive on Sunday,” Breer added.
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