The New England Patriots are reportedly letting go of backup quarterback Bailey Zappe in the first surprise of the day. Tuesday’s announcement was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Zappe was seen to be Mac Jones’ best backup quarterback and a lock to make the squad. Although he struggled throughout the preseason, he performed well enough during training camp for people to believe he would earn another chance to start at quarterback.

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Additionally, the Patriots selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draught, which was another factor.

The Patriots have released Zappe, Trace McSorley and Malik Cunningham, leaving Jones as the only quarterback left on the roster.

On Tuesday, the New England Patriots reduced the number of players on their roster from 90 to 53. Of of 53 athletes, just one plays quarterback.

Following the release of backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham, Mac Jones is the only quarterback left on the roster. On Monday, the Patriots cut Trace McSorley, their fourth quarterback in training camp.

When he replaced an injured Jones last season and won two games, the term “Zappe Fever” became popular. Zappe, however, had a very difficult training camp in 2023 and failed to get into a rhythm throughout his preseason games. Bill Belichick and the Patriots decided to move on from the fourth-round pick in 2022 after that, it seems.

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Zappe, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draught, made four starts as a rookie. He had a quarterback rating of 100.9 after completing 71% of his throws for 781 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Then, in the preseason, he played the most minutes of any quarterback for the Patriots. However, he had one touchdown and no interceptions while completing 59 percent of his throws for 253 yards.