Patriots QB Bailey Zappe’s Agent to Doubters: ‘Told You!’

Bailey Zappe has taken the NFL world by storm after consecutive wins as a starter and his agent, Nicole Lynn, can hardly contain her excitement.

Add Nicole Lynn to the growing list of names made happy by Bailey Zappe.

Lynn, a lauded representative and the President of Football Operations at Rich Paul's Klutch Sports agency, has the New England Patriots' rookie quarterback sensation on her client list. It's taking plenty of willpower on her end not to let Zappe's 31 doubters realize their apparent mistake. 

Trying to restrain myself from texting every team who told me Bailey Zappe couldn’t play in the NFL.

— Nicole Lynn (@AgentNicoleLynn) October 16, 2022

"Trying to restrain myself from texting every team who told me Bailey Zappe couldn’t play in the NFL," Lynn wrote on Twitter shortly after Zappe put the finishing touches on a 38-15 Patriots victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Zappe, subbing for injured Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, has made history in his first two starters under center, becoming the first freshman quarterback in the Super Bowl era to not only win but post a passer rating of at least 100 in his debut couple. New England (3-3) previously topped Detroit 29-0 in his first substitute job. 

It's obviously way too early to draw comparisons between Zappe and Tom Brady's coup of Foxboro's franchise quarterback spot in 2001, but he has undoubtedly played a role in thrusting New England back into NFL relevancy after a 1-3 start. Zappe's 112.5 passer rating over the last two weeks is second-best amongst quarterbacks with at least 50 combined attempts over the last two weeks. 

To Lynn's point, Zappe was a lauded collegiate quarterback coming out of Western Kentucky, notably setting Football Bowl Subdivision/Division I-A records for touchdown passes (62) and aerial yardage (5,967) in a single season last year. That wasn't enough for him to hear his name called during the first two nights of last spring's draft, as his questionable size and arm strength relegated him to the fourth round, where he was selected by the Patriots in the 137th overall slot.

In what's admittedly a very small sample size (only four freshmen having thrown regular season passes thus far), Zappe has been by far the most impactful rookie thrower thus far and has even led some to question whether he can handle the Patriots' passing duties full-time. 

Lynn's tempting victory lap is part of what has been a very lucrative season so far: among her other clients are Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (whose breakout has helped paced the NFL's only perfect start through six games) and New York Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, who earned a blocked field goal and a sack in a 27-10 win over Green Bay on Sunday. 

The legend of Zappe's next chapter is set to be written on Monday when the Patriots battle the Chicago Bears in prime time (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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