Bailey Zappe Reveals When Patriots Told Him He’d Start Vs. Browns

Mac Jones wasn’t a game-time decision this past weekend in Cleveland, but he wasn’t far off.

Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe said the New England Patriots didn’t inform him that he’d be starting against the Cleveland Browns until Saturday.

“To be quite honest with you, I think it was Saturday, the day before the game,” Zappe said Monday on WEEI’s “Merloni, Fauria & Mego.” “The whole week, I was preparing as if I was, or if I was a backup like I had the last few weeks. Now this week, I’ll be doing the same thing, taking advantage of all the reps I get, no matter what it is, getting ready for the Bears.”

Zappe’s preparation showed Sunday. Making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Jones, the fourth-round draft pick went 24-for-34 for 309 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions as the Patriots dispatched the Browns 38-15 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

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Jones has missed the Patriots’ last three games with a high ankle sprain, and Zappe has posted a passer rating of 100 or above in all three, including one he entered in relief of primary backup Brian Hoyer. His play has helped the Patriots pull back to .500 following a 1-3 start and sparked legitimate questions about whether he should remain New England’s starter even after Jones is medically cleared to return.

Head coach Bill Belichick has turned down multiple opportunities to say Jones — who showed improvement in practice last week, made the trip to Cleveland and watched Sunday’s win from the sideline — automatically reclaim his starting job once he heals.

“We’ll see how that process is,” Belichick said Monday morning. “Mac still wasn’t able to play (Sunday). So we’ll continue to evaluate him and see how he’s doing physically.”

The Patriots will host Chicago next week on “Monday Night Football.”