5 Patriots Already at Risk of Being Traded at the Deadline
By Tyler Maher
4. Bailey Zappe
This isn’t an indictment of Zappe, who hasn’t played in an actual game this year.
However, the Patriots clearly don’t think too highly of him. He didn’t make the initial 53-man roster, after all, so New England was willing to leave him unprotected on the practice squad before finally elevating him to the actual roster.
That tells me that Bill Belichick maybe doesn’t have the most confidence in Zappe going forward. Zappe admittedly had a bad preseason and struggled to learn Bill O’Brien’s new offense, but he does have a track record of success in meaningful games with a 2-0 record as a starter last year.
If that’s the case, then it might be time to move on from Zappe while he still has trade value. Quality quarterbacks aren’t easy to find and another team could probably use him, either as a starter or a backup.
Because with the Patriots committing to Jones this year (and Jones playing well so far), Zappe doesn’t seem to have much of a future in New England anymore, except as a backup.
If the Patriots want to maximize Zappe’s value, trading him is probably the best option at this point, especially while last year’s heroics are still fresh in everyone’s minds.