Could Patriots Replace Bailey Zappe With Any Of These Roster-Cut QBs?

The New England Patriots entered Wednesday with 53 players on their roster and exactly one quarterback: Mac Jones.

Trace McSorley? Malik Cunningham? Bailey Zappe? All released during final cuts, with Zappe’s departure standing out as the biggest stunner of this Patriots summer.

New England reportedly hopes to re-sign both Zappe and Cunningham to its practice squad if they clear waivers. If that happens, it might not need to immediately add another QB.

Players can be elevated from the practice squad to the gameday roster up to three times per season, so the Patriots theoretically could take that approach with Zappe to start, then sign him or someone else to the 53-man roster in Week 4.

In fact, that’s exactly how they’d like to proceed, according to a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Rusinni and Jeff Howe.

The Patriots are planning for their backup QB to be Bailey Zappe if he clears waivers and makes it to practice squad. Otherwise they’re working through a list of who will be available, league sources tell me and @jeffhowe

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— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 30, 2023

There’s no guarantee Zappe will even make it to the P-squad, however. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported there was a “real chance” another team would claim the 2022 fourth-round pick, who struggled this summer but played well as an injury fill-in for Jones last season.

If that happens, the Patriots would need to look externally for Jones’ new backup.

We shared an initial list of replacement options shortly after Zappe’s release, headlined by former Arizona Cardinals No. 2 Colt McCoy. But several players on that list already have been ruled out. MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels reported the Patriots aren’t interested in Carson Wentz or Nick Foles, and Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard indicated Brian Hoyer “will not be an option.”

Who else is out there? The pool of available QBs is, unsurprisingly, rather shallow. But more than a dozen also hit the market Tuesday alongside Zappe and Cunningham. Nine of those were vested veterans who are not subject to waivers, meaning they can sign with any team without needing to go through the claiming process.

Those players:

David Blough
Jeff Driskel
Will Grier
Trevor Siemian
Brett Rypien
Tim Boyle
John Wolford
Nathan Peterman
Josh Johnson

Grier reportedly joined the Bengals’ practice squad Wednesday morning, removing him as a possible option.

Siemian would be a decent choice. The 31-year-old started for the Denver Broncos for two seasons before settling in as a backup with the Jets, Saints and Bears.

Blough was a backup in Detroit during the Matt Patricia era. (He also happens to be married to Christian Gonzalez’s sister.) Driskel, a former Boston Red Sox draft pick, was in Detroit with Patricia and Houston with Nick Caserio, giving him some Patriots-adjacent connections. Both spent training camp with the Arizona Cardinals, whose new general manager, Monti Ossenfort, worked for New England for years.

Wolford made spot starts for the Los Angeles Rams over the last three seasons. Johnson has played for nearly half the teams in the NFL.

Giving Jones a veteran understudy with some pro experience and wisdom would make sense. But if the Patriots want to add a developmental player instead, the following waiver-eligible signal-callers also were cut Tuesday:

Jake Fromm
Kellen Mond
Ian Book
Shane Buechele
Anthony Brown
Holton Ahlers
Reid Sinnett
Ben DiNucci
Adrian Martinez
Alex McGough
E.J. Perry
Nathan Rourke
Chris Oladokun
Max Duggan
Dresser Winn
Tommy DeVito

Fromm and Mond looked like potential Patriots fits ahead of their respective NFL drafts, but every player on that list is more likely to land on a practice squad than join a 53-man roster. All would become free agents if they clear waivers.

Two other possibilities who don’t fall into either of those groups are A.J. McCarron, who played under Bill O’Brien in Houston and Nick Saban at Alabama, and Case Keenum, who’s currently the Texans’ No. 3.

McCarron most recently played in the XFL and is a free agent. Keenum would need to be acquired via trade, but the Patriots have a close relationship with Caserio and Houston’s front office.