6 Patriots on the Bubble Ahead of 2024 Training Camp
5. Bailey Zappe, Quarterback
Bailey Zappe has one big "W" this offseason -- he got married. That's a major win for Zappe, whose football career is otherwise in somewhat of a holding pattern.
So what does Zappe think of the Patriots bringing in three new quarterbacks in 2024 -- including 1st-round pick Drake Maye -- and seemingly making him an afterthought? He gave some insight back in May, although he was obviously trying his best just to say all the right things.
"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 is going to get an opportunity and everybody's going to compete. Like Mayo says, it depends on what you do with that opportunity.
- Bailey Zappe
They've told all of us that there's going to be a competition. Everybody's going to have the opportunity to go out there and prove that they can be that guy. All four of us are going to do our best to do that, and then whoever gets that job, the other three of us are going to help that guy do whatever he can on the field to win games."
I don't think anyone is really confusing Zappe right now as a starter candidate, and his reps are already getting eaten up by both veteran Jacoby Brissett and Maye. The Patriots also invested a sixth-round pick in developmental prospect Joe Milton, a talented athlete with one of the biggest arms in the 2024 class.
It's just difficult to envision a scenario in which Zappe is on this Patriots' roster. Unless they determine that there aren't other players worth keeping elsewhere on the roster, the Patriots just won't be able to justify four quarterbacks. Hopefully for Zappe, some team comes calling in a trade and proves they actually want him in the mix as a potential QB2. He did pretty well with the opportunities he was given the last couple of years, all things considered.