Former Patriots Fan Favorite Returning to Gillette Stadium

Remember the chants that filled the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium throughout the 2022 season?

"Zap-pe! Zap-pe! Zap-pe! Zap-pe! Zap-pe!"

Well, if you've still got the fever for now-Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Bailey Zappe, get ready for the return of what was one of the wildest careers from a New England Patriots player in recent memory. The Patriots' old draft pick — now the Browns' third string signal caller — currently sits on the team's practice squad, and after what's been a rollercoaster of a quarterback this room, may travel to Foxboro for the first time since being released.

Bailey Zappe Started Eight Games For The Patriots After Being Drafted

Zappe was taken by the Patriots in the fourth round (137th overall) of the 2022 draft after a record-setting career at Western Kentucky. He spent his first few weeks on the bench as the third quarterback, but after Mac Jones sprained his ankle against the Baltimore Ravens and Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion just one week later, the rookie was under center calling the shots.

That's when "Zappe Fever" took over. He helped push the Green Bay Packers to the brink in a last-second loss in overtime, before rattling off back-to-back wins over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns (ironic). When Jones came back from injury, he had some moments back on the field, but relented the starting role to the former first rounder.

The next season, Jones remained the starter, but poor quarterback play forced the Patriots' hand and Zappe took over. He would start the rest of the games, and Jones would be traded away after the season.

"For me personally, I think it's important for me to put a full game together," Zappe said in December 2023. "First halves been great. Second halves haven't been so good. So, I think if I'm able to go out there and execute and run the offense the way it's supposed to be run for two halves, I think we'll score a lot more points. So that directly reflects on me doing my job well and then that relates to everybody else. So, I think that's for me, that's what I want to do."

Zappe closed the 2023 season out after Jones was benched, and put together an ending that featured a nail-biting victory over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve, as well as a snowy home loss to the New York Jets that turned out to be the final game of Bill Belichick's head coaching tenure in New England.

Will The Cleveland Browns Even Activate the Quarterback This Week?

Dec 29, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe (2) throws the ball during warm ups before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

The following summer, after the Patriots had brought in veteran Jacoby Brissett and drafted both Drake Maye and Joe Milton, Zappe was the odd man out and was released during final cuts in August. He quickly landed on his feet, signing with the practice squad of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and spent a couple weeks there as the team's third signal caller.

He then was signed by the Browns, made a start for the team on their active roster before hitting free agency at the end of the year. That's when he did the cycle all over again. In March of this year, Zappe signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs and was later cut before signing with Cleveland once again.

And now Zappe, though his chance to play over rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders is slim, may make an appearance as the team's third quarterback. There may still be a few Zappe jerseys floating around the tailgates outside of Gillette Stadium prior to the Week 8 matchup, but like Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said last week: "it's interesting, but it's not important."

That is, unless Zappe is thrust into the starting role — just like he was as a Patriot for two full seasons. That would be considered a Zappe ending after all.

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