Tom E. Curran joins Arbella Early Edition to weigh in on what Bailey Zappe’s role is, and should be on the Patriots and how they can best use their roster to get Drake Maye ready.
The Mac Jones era in New England is over, but Bailey Zappe remains part of the equation heading into the summer.
Zappe is competing with veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and rookies Drake Maye and Joe Milton. Surprisingly, the 2022 fourth-rounder has received more reps so far this spring than the No. 3 overall pick.
That trend continued during Wednesday's OTA session. Maye did more with his reps than Zappe, who committed the lone turnover among Pats QBs, but he still was the clear No. 2 signal-caller on the depth chart behind Brissett.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry tried to make sense of the team's handling of Zappe and Maye's reps during the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast. Although some veterans tend to favor experienced players getting the bulk of the reps, Curran believes they'd make an exception in New England's case.
🔊 Patriots Talk: Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett sparkle at Patriots OTA | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"Jacoby's here. He's really pretty good actually. Every time we go out there at practice he knows what he's doing and the ball shows up where it's supposed to and accurate. That kid's supposed to be really good, they took him third overall. Love Bailey, the bus is leaving," Curran said, viewing the situation from a Pats player's perspective.
Perry asked Curran whether the QB reps indicate the Patriots not wanting Maye to have to play early in the season if Brissett goes down.
MORE PATRIOTS
"Yeah. Keep him until you can't keep him," Curran said of Zappe. "Let him go in early August before the round of cuts so people understand he's out there and say, 'We love you, we don't know what's going to happen. We never do when games start. If you're not with somebody, if you're with somebody's practice squad, whatever, don't be surprised if you see a 508 number pop up on your phone.'
"But I mean, at some point it has to happen. Maybe that's the logic to it is he's with us through June and maybe the first few weeks of training camp. If, the first week of training camp, they're still in this mode where Bailey Zappe's getting the second reps to the detriment -- if the overall total of reps for good players is demonstrably low compared to Bailey Zappe for Drake Maye -- what are you doing? Get him out of there."
Also in the episode:
- Jacoby Brissett looking good, feeling good at OTAs.
- Best plays of the day.
- Evaluating the snaps.
- Tyquan Thornton once again shows up in May.
