A day after being waived by New England, Bailey Zappe has a deal in place to join the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad, according to NFL Media. In Kansas City, Zappe will get a chance to work behind two-time league and three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and with offensive guru Andy Reid.
Tuesday marked the second time in as many years that Zappe has been let go by the Patriots. Last year, he was waived by the team only to return a day later via the practice squad. That wasn't the case this time around, though, as the Chiefs pounced on the chance to sign the third-year veteran.
Zappe started the spring as New England's No. 2 quarterback behind Jacoby Brissett (likely due to seniority) and quickly lost ground to No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, who leaped over him on the depth chart. As the summer rolled along, he then moved behind fellow rookie quarterback Joe Milton III in reps. In the preseason finale against Washington, Zappe played the final series of the exhibition.
Zappe had spent his entire career with the Patriots ever since the team selected the Western Kentucky product in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In his two years with the franchise, the 25-year-old had a string of spot starts, going 4-4 in those games. Last season, he started the final six games of the regular season and went 2-4.
In 14 career appearances, Zappe completed 63.2% of his passes while throwing for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
At the moment, that leaves three quarterbacks on New England's roster: Brissett, Maye and Milton III. One could make the case that Zappe's release is an encouraging update on Brissett, who suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason finale. Had that been a more serious injury, a stronger case to keep Zappe -- who has starting experience -- on the roster would have sprouted up, particularly if they did not want to be forced into beginning the Maye era out of the gate in Week 1.