As veteran Jacoby Brissett explained, the New England Patriots quarterback’s have an “elephant in the room.” It’s one that head coach Jerod Mayo even alluded to being awkward. That elephant is Bailey Zappe’s role with the team, as the Patriots signed Brissett to a one-year, $8 million deal this offseason before drafting rookie quarterbacks Drake Maye (third overall) and Joe Milton in the NFL Draft months later.
Despite his future role with the team being tough to find, Zappe, who Mayo shared has handled the situation “fantastically”, has not felt much awkwardness on a daily basis. “I’ve been having fun, y’all,” Zappe said after Wednesday’s OTA practice. “They bring in guys every year, obviously.
They want everybody to compete, and that’s what they’ve been telling us this entire time: that everybody’s going to get an opportunity, everybody’s going to compete.And just like Mayo said, it depends on what you do with that opportunity.” “Everybody is there to help everyone out,” Zappe added.
“Once you get to know each other, you understand everyone has the same common goal, and that’s to win games.” Zappe received his first extended opportunity at the end of last season, when struggles from Mac Jones led to Zappe starting the final six games of the regular season. New England’s offense played marginally better, but Zappe’s accuracy and turnover issues — including five interceptions in the final two games — plagued the consistenc.