Patriots cut Bailey Zappe amid crowded QB room

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots waived quarterback Bailey Zappe on Tuesday.

Zappe finished the preseason 15-of-25 for 137 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He played 36 snaps in the opener, the most of any quarterback, as he entered after veteran starter Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye played one series apiece.

But then he hardly saw the field after that game, playing just five snaps in the second preseason game and six in the finale, as the majority of time went to rookies Maye and Joe Milton III.

The deadline for teams to trim to the 53-player roster limit was Tuesday. In another notable move, Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne will start the season on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he will miss at least the first four games. Bourne, who re-signed with New England on a three-year contract in March, is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last October.

In other moves, the Patriots also waived kicker Chad Ryland. Ryland was a 2023 fourth-round draft pick who was competing against veteran Joey Slye in training camp this year.

The Patriots waived Zappe on cut-down day last year, but he re-signed with the team on the practice squad. With the team having drafted two quarterbacks this past April, that scenario is unlikely this year.

Quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney noted how Zappe handled a challenging situation.

“Bailey’s been a pro’s pro,” McCartney said. “He’s been in some tough situations here over the years. Tough situation when you go in for your first preseason game [this year] and they boo,” he said. “He’s been the same guy every day, and he’s had a really good camp. He’s gotten a lot better from Phase 2 [of the offseason] when I first saw him. I’ve been impressed.”

Once the Patriots selected Maye with the No. 3 pick in the draft and then also drafted Milton in the sixth round, it made Zappe a long shot to stick on the roster despite his eight career starts.

Zappe, who is 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, has posted a career stat line of 192-of-304 for 2,053 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He said one of his goals in preseason and training camp was to cut down on his turnovers, and he succeeded, finishing without one through the 2024 practices.