Zappe vs. Corral: Patriots QB2 Plan Revealed

After cutting backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham before signing them to the practice squad, the New England Patriots added former Carolina Panthers signal-caller Matt Corral to the 53-man roster.

What are the New England Patriots doing at quarterback? We know Mac Jones will be the starter in the season opener versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet, it is unknown who will be his backup after the Patriots successfully claimed and signed former Carolina Panthers third-round pick Matt Corral. 

The former Ole Miss product signed after the Patriots waived both backups Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham before bringing them back to the practice squad. 

Yet, it may not stay that way, as the rumored plan of the Patriots was to move Zappe up after clearing spots for him by moving hurt players to the short-term injury reserve. Even after the signing of Corral, that still seems to be the strategy for the Patriots, as NFL.com's Ian Rapoport recently explained. 

“My understanding is that Corral and Zappe will compete for the backup job,” Rapport said. “Obviously safe to say, considering Zappe knows the offense so well, maybe he has the leg up, but definitely an intriguing flier that the Patriots just took on a young quarterback.”

It is crazy to think how much of a difference a year makes, as over the offseason, Zappe went from being viewed as someone who could push Jones for the starting job to having to compete to keep his spot as QB2 on the depth chart. 

As Rapoport noted, Zappe does boast the advantage of knowing the offense that Bill O'Brien installed this offseason, but he also has more experience than Corral despite both coming from the same draft class. While Corral sat behind a number of quarterbacks in Charlotte, Zappe gained valuable starting experience in relief of the then-injured Jones. 

The former fourth-round pick started in two of the four games he appeared in last season. He proved to be a competent starter, leading the team to two wins as the starter, despite being thrown into the fire unexpectedly. 

However, a shaky training camp and preseason for Zappe forced the Patriots to look around for competition. That is where Corral will come into play for New England as he will look to earn the backup role behind Jones.