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What Bailey Zappe had to say about Patriots drafting another QB,Trent Brown’s benching & more on WEEI
“I'm looking forward to competing against whoever comes in here for that job."
Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe appeared on WEEI’s “Jones & Mego” show Tuesday afternoon, touching on topics like his performance against the Bills on Sunday, New England’s future plans at quarterback, and much more.
Here are some highlights from his extended interview:
An uncertain future
Thanks to Sunday’s frustrating loss to the Bills — coupled with an upset win by the Cardinals over the Eagles — New England is still in prime position to select a blue-chip quarterback during April’s NFL Draft.
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According to Tankathon, the Patriots are currently projected to select third overall in April. But they could still move up to No. 2, as they only trail the Commanders by a few percentage points in their strength of schedule (SOS). New England and Washington currently hold identical records, with SOS standing as the first tie-breaker to determine draft order.
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If New England holds steady around this spot on the draft leaderboard, a franchise in need of a new leader on offense could be in prime position to select a coveted quarterback prospect like USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye, or LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
Even if the Patriots drop down the draft order (especially if they defeat the Jets in their season finale this Sunday), New England could target another QB whose stock is soaring in Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
Of course, New England’s presumed focus on a new QB puts a player like Zappe (and by extension, Mac Jones) in an uncomfortable spot. Zappe is expected to start again on Sunday against New York, with New England’s woeful offense making some incremental gains since the second-year QB took over for Jones in early December.
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On Tuesday, Zappe was asked how he would react if New England did use that coveted first-round pick on a potential franchise QB.
“If that’s what they decide to do, that’s what they decide to do,” Zappe said. “I’m looking forward to competing against whoever comes in here for that job. I’m going to do the same thing I did last offseason: get ready to be the guy and if my name’s called I’m going to do the best thing I can to help the team win and hopefully it is and hopefully we get after it next year… But I don’t want to skip over these guys that we’re playing this Sunday.”
A rough showing in Buffalo
Even though he has guided New England to two wins in his five starts as the team’s QB1, Zappe has been plagued at times by inconsistent stretches of play.
During Sunday’s 27-21 loss to the Bills, Zappe and New England’s offense had a disastrous start — committing four turnovers on their first six drives.
Zappe, who threw three picks during that dreadful stretch, did help New England orchestrate two extended touchdown drives in the second and fourth quarters. But by then, it was too little, too late for a Patriots team now sitting at 4-12 this season.
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“I think just, speaking for myself, it’s just being smarter with the ball,” Zappe said of his miscues on Sunday. “Understanding what the play is, understanding what we’re trying to attack, understanding what the defense is doing against us on that certain play and just getting it to the guys.
“We have great playmakers. We have guys in the receiver room, right end room, running back room what can do great things with the ball in their hands. So the moment I can get the ball in their hands, the faster I can, the faster they can make plays so I just have got to do a better job of that.”
Despite his struggles out of the gate in Buffalo, Zappe said he wasn’t worried about getting replaced by Mac Jones as the game progressed.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots are no strangers to switching up the QB depth chart this season after a poor start, with Jones benched four times in 11 games before Zappe took over for good in Week 13.
“No, not at all,” Zappe said of potentially looking over his shoulder after relinquishing three picks. “There was never, to my knowledge, any conversations about that at all. [Bill O’Brien] just told me to keep firing it. I’ve kind of had that mentality of trying to have short-term memory loss, that gunslinger mentality, no matter what’s going on.”
A franchise-shifting end?
Most Patriots fans might focus most of their attention on the draft implications that will come with Sunday’s season finale against the Jets.
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But it could also stand as Bill Belichick’s final game as New England’s head coach, with the legendary sports figure’s job security in Foxborough still in doubt amid a disappointing 2023 campaign.
Taking a page out of his head coach’s script, Zappe opted to not look ahead to his message for Belichick following the conclusion of Sunday’s game against New York.
“I’m not really into all that stuff,” Zappe said. “If it is, if it isn’t, I’m not quite sure. No matter if it is or isn’t, I think the one goal is to win no matter what’s going on. So I think the message from him and for everybody is just to finish this year on a high note.”
A distraction on the O-line?
It remains to be seen what the Patriots will do this offseason when it comes to Belichick.
But the writing does seem to be on the wall that Trent Brown’s tenure in Foxborough is coming to a close.
New England’s starting left tackle was designated as a healthy scratch ahead of Sunday’s game. It was a costly absence for Brown. According to @Patscap, the veteran tackle will not earn any of his $6.5 million in playing-time incentives after missing Sunday’s game.
With Brown not in the lineup, New England’s O-line struggled against Ed Oliver and a potent Bills pass rush. Buffalo finished Sunday’s game with three sacks and eight QB hits against Zappe.
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On Tuesday, Zappe said he knew in the days leading up to Sunday’s game that Brown was not going to play against the Bills.
“I’m not quite sure when it all happened,” Zappe said. “But I think it was either Friday or Saturday. I can’t pinpoint the exact date whenever I found out. I don’t know who I found out from. I think I just kind of found out down the grapevine.”
The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed reported on Sunday that New England has had issues with keeping Brown motivated since he lost money via playing time incentives. Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal offered more insight into Brown’s standing within New England’s locker room.
“Internally, I’m told, there was belief Brown could have returned before (Week 12) and did not,” Giardi wrote. “The belief was that he was protecting himself and his future earnings in a season without the promise of a postseason. With the number of players on the roster who were playing through injuries — including those on the offensive line — needless to say, that hasn’t gone over very well.”
Zappe noted on Tuesday that he hasn’t had issues with Brown as a teammate over the last two years in New England.
“I mean, personally with me, he’s always been great with me,” Zappe said. “I’ve never had an issue with him. I can’t speak for anybody else. But for me, every time I’ve had a question — asking him about guys that he’s played with in the past, he’s always been open to answering those questions. I’ve never really had a problem with him.
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“Me and him are actually pretty close. We’re both from Texas, we like being in Texas. So we have that as a similarity. So we get along well. We always talk about other things, and I’ve never had a problem with him personally. Of course, that’s just my personal view.”
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