Earlier this offseason, New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had previously suggested that the club might pare its quarterback group down to three ahead of training camp, which meant one of the current group of four would likely be the odd man out.
That came following a report by Albert Breer last month that the plan at the time was to narrow the competition ahead of training camp, to allow the Patriots to “be more efficient” as they start prepping for the season.
Mayo acknowledged the report at the time, noting that they would let things play out, albeit it sounded like they wanted to pare things down at that position.
“We’ll see,” said Mayo. “Once we get to training camp, that’s real football. So out here in the spring, we’ll rock with four. But as soon as we get to training camp, now you have to start paring down the rosters.”
Barring something incredibly bizarre, veteran Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye are expected to be locks for this year’s roster. From there, that would leave either veteran Bailey Zappe or rookie Joe Milton as the odd man out.
Up until last week, Milton should have been considered a safe bet to stick around, given his potential and physical talents. With that in mind, putting him out on the waiver wire by the end of camp with the hopes of getting him on the practice squad feels like a dangerous move, since the likelihood of being claimed feels pretty high.
He’s been a player who, after the club took him in the sixth round back in April, was going to be a project that the team seemingly took a calculated risk on, giving them some additional insurance behind Maye. It’s also a move that could have ended up paying dividends depending on how things might have gone.
However, Milton’s received a limited amount of reps thus far, and hasn’t seemed to do enough to establish himself to this point. His role has been reduced, so he remains a big question mark.
Meanwhile, Zappe went from receiving reps with the second group of the offense in the early part of OTAs, to finding himself as the third quarterback among the group. His situation also remains questionable, although his experience as a starter and his status in the locker room among players are also two things that bring value. It’s also possible that the club has shifted course and is willing to risk passing him through waivers at the end of August and again bringing him back on its practice squad.
How Zappe feels about that is another story, with Milton’s situation likely being a factor. With Brissett here on a one-year deal, the door feels open for Zappe to compete to be the backup in 2025. But that will likely depend on Milton’s development. More importantly, should Brissett get injured during the early weeks fo the season, having Zappe here to step in feels like the smart move, although that would most definitely fast-track Maye’s development.
The big question had been whether or Zappe would have been traded elsewhere by now, which was something that was previously suggested by Ian Rapoport back in April. Instead, that hasn’t transpired and he’s now on track to be out there for training camp next month here in New England.
As a result, it sounds like the team isn’t quite ready to part with him just yet. That assumption is based on Mayo reversing course, telling reporters this week that he sees the team fielding four quarterbacks when training camp opens next month.
“Absolutely. That’s how I see it right now,” said Mayo when asked on Wednesday if the club would carry four quarterbacks into training camp. “Look, we’ll have these conversations as the week progresses, but that’s how I see it right now.”
What that means is tough to say. It’s possible when Mayo initially spoke about the quarterback situation previously that they might have believed that Milton could have been a possibility to overtake Zappe for the #3 spot on the depth chart.
However, it’s possible there’s some doubt, and that Zappe remains the safer option. That would certainly explain why he’s still here.
Either way, for anyone who thought Zappe might be on someone else’s roster this summer, it looks like the scrappy quarterback from Western Kentucky could be sticking around a little longer.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
