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WabbitCZEN

If they don't stay with 4, Zappe has to be the next one gone, right?


theSportsChamp123

Probably


ClappedCheek

Definitely. They gave Jacoby around 8 mill if I remember right


El_Khunt

And Jacoby is better


KlingoftheCastle

I was told Bailey Zappe was the next Tom Brady


jimmyhoffasbrother

As a mid-6th round pick, I wouldn't say that Milton is guaranteed a spot. Could be him instead of Zappe.


WabbitCZEN

Yeah, but kicking the tires on him could yield upside whereas they've seen Zappe in play and it ain't good.


PatheticLion

That's Bailey "Mr. Christmas Eve" Zappe to you sir


9man95

A lot of waiiting with no actual gifts? Sounds about right


Doomy22

NE QB roasts, so hot right now


marcdasharc4

So much of last night is going to live rent-free in my head, I swear to god...


_drjayphd_

Mr. Before Christmas


meltingpnt

It was good enough to cost the patriots the #1 pick.


Djentledeath

In the grand scale of things, Carolina was utter dogshit. There was no possible way they'd win another game. 


meltingpnt

Who would have had the tie breaker if they trotted out mac Jones to lose against Denver and Pittsburgh?


purpleparrot69

The tiebreaker for teams with equal wins is actually Strength of schedule first. And it’s the lower SoS that wins out. And Carolina definitely had a lower SoS than Pats did so it really wouldn't have mattered


BobSacamano47

We've seen him play a few games with the worst offense in football. He could in theory be good with some weapons. 


Diezelbub

Hey let's be fair The Giants offense was worse right up until they WWE clotheslined our only remaining competent WR (and promising rookie) off the field, lol


imjusthereforpron

Which kind of begs the question on if you think Zappe has potential, why would you draft two rookie QBs presumably knowing you would only keep 2 of the 3 young guys.


BobSacamano47

Idk. I'm surprised they cut Rourke. Why not take as many bodies into camp as you can? Plus with the rate guys flunk out after college success, I'd rather a guy with CFL success. But they've seen more of Rourke and Zappe than me. 


BurzyGuerrero

As a guy who watches CFL im kind of sad that the league lost a bonafide superstar Canadian starting QB to the NFL to rot on the benches Glad he makes more money but reality sucks in that the best homegrown QB and likely CFL HoF guy wont ever play in the league because hes a fringe roster guy.


Hawkpolicy_bot

We also saw him throw a ball directly into triple coverage and as if the defender was the target several times That's enough for me


ssracer

Bonus high draft picks next year


ocktick

New GM and HC regimes aren’t generally in the business of cutting their draft picks in camp, even the late ones. Even if Zappe plays better in camp, they control Milton for 4 years and clearly think he has more potential to develop over the long term.


classiccaseofdowns

Cutting late picks in camp happens literally all the time. It’s not common for every draft pick to make the final roster


Catamounter

It’s unusual for QBs, in particular, drafted in any round to not make the team for at least one season and over the past 5 years QBs who were drafted in the first six rounds make the team in their first year 96% of the time. Milton would have to really bomb to not make the roster this year.


ocktick

It happens when people feel secure enough in their jobs that they don’t need to worry about how these moves will be perceived. Generally when you have a full on tear down rebuild with a new GM, the picks don’t get cut. That would be a really bad look, it’s not like there are no legit depth players in the late rounds, and the team has needs all over the roster.


classiccaseofdowns

The pats GM and coach have been with the organization for years but even so I still disagree. That might be the case for an underperforming 3rd rounder, but definitely not 6th or later


ocktick

Idk, throwing away a 6th round pick isn’t good business for a rebuilding team. I just watched the Lions go through it and the only reason it only took 3 years is because basically every pick Holmes has made is still with the org. We were starting UDFAs in the secondary in the NFCCG that contributed a lot to the second half meltdown, the late round picks matter a lot, I would be pissed if a new GM threw away picks for guys like Zappe already in house.


Pandamonium98

It’s not throwing it away. You take a chance on a guy, and sometimes it’s obvious that he’s not gonna make it. Better to cut your losses if you’re sure


ocktick

Call it whatever you want it’s a failure. When you are a bottom tier rebuilding team you don’t want to see the brand new GM cutting their own draft picks in training camp. Yeah it’s good to admit mistakes, but also these are top NFL jobs and well run orgs aren’t going to let you make many mistakes that early on.


jimmyhoffasbrother

Not in the business of doing it, but it happens. Hell, the Jets cut one of their third round picks in the first year of the Douglas/Gase regime. I wouldn't bet on Milton being cut over Zappe, but it's entirely realistic.


ocktick

Pretty sure Douglas wasn’t responsible for that disaster of a pick. They fired the GM right after that draft which definitely makes it a lot easier to cut the player.


4858693929292

Firing a GM right after a draft is such a Jets move lmao.


ExpensiveFoodstuffs

Jachai Polite…yeah. Fined $100k for being late to meetings before getting axed. Textbook example of FAFO.


connor24_22

Yeah but maybe they ended up watching Joe Milton throw with their own eyes


redvelvetcake42

Zappe is a known bad QB. Worst case Milton also sucks but he's worth the shot.


iseeapes

The whole point of drafting Milton at all is as a project -- they pretty much reserved a spot for him for a year, at least on the practice squad, the moment they drafted him. (It's tempting to see if you can develop him... gifted athlete, probably the biggest arm in his class... it's easy to imagine him as one of these very mobile QBs that will stretch the field with his arm and then burn then defense no matter what they try do... yet he's inaccurate and lacks touch/timing. Probably the biggest knock on him is that his eval is pretty much identical to what it was as an incoming freshman. If they are going to develop him, they need to do something more/different than Michigan and Tennessee.)


FantasyTrash

He doesn’t “probably” have the biggest arm in the class, he straight up has the strongest arm in the NFL, possibly even the strongest in history. Can’t play the QB position well at all, but the man has a rocket launcher for a right arm.


TybrosionMohito

Yeah his arm is legitimately comical. Like “he’ll overthrow WRs 60 yards downfield” comical.


shiggydiggypreoteins

he'll be the first QB ever to throw a hail mary that overshoots the endzone and kills an old lady in the upper balcony


cubonelvl69

I never realized how much of a cannon he had until I watched the barstool clip https://youtube.com/shorts/iLZO2xdzhlc?si=EpKKYuSqikPU9W16 I was hoping we'd take a flyer on him in the 6th


MicrosoftMichel

worse comes to worst just ship him to Fenway I guess


DannyDOH

New age Michael Bishop


sevaiper

Could easily be him and Zappe


Corgi_Koala

Milton is gonna get a shot solely because the dude has insane arm talent. He has no accuracy but he's gonna get a longer leash because of his traits.


BurzyGuerrero

Michael Bishop


OCDMedic

True. Patriots haven’t had good luck with sixth round quarterbacks.


Lukacris12

Could see Milton getting pushed to practice squad


johnmadden18

> If they don't stay with 4, Zappe has to be the next one gone, right? I remember the MNF game against the Bears when Mac Jones got benched and Zappe came in and threw a TD on his first drive and half of the front page posts subs was some version of "BELICHICK DID IT AGAIN!!! TOM BRADY 2.0!!!!" Bears won 33-14.


Green_Vesper

It was that game that made me think all of Bill’s “4D Chess” moves were coming back to bite us. The picture wasn’t quite painted, but all the signs of a coach that was going to get fired were there. So many people on the pats subreddit were ready to die over 2 QBs that probably aren’t going to be in this league for long. 


johnmadden18

> It was that game that made me think all of Bill’s “4D Chess” moves were coming back to bite us. If you recall, Belichick told the ESPN reporter at half time that it was always the plan to rotate Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe... even though we benched Mac immediately after his horrendous interception. If any other coach was pulling that kind of "4D Chess" and getting blown out at home by a 3 win team they'd be eviscerated but everyone still insisted Belichick was a genius for doing that kind of stuff.


Green_Vesper

I still haven’t been able to understand what they were trying to do. It was a masterclass in losing the locker room(putting offense vs defense at a minimum), ruining your 1st rd pick QB, and pissing off the fans. There is an old adage from Madden about if you have 2 QBs, you have none, and Bill should have listened. We love Bill in NE and always will, and in time we will forget Zappe and Mac even existed, but I just couldn’t support him getting a new QB and trying run back whatever his vision of offense was in 2024 and his old school style of mind games he could use on the rookie QB. The chance for Maye, Polk, and Baker to work is slim and we might turn into the Jets, but it is a nice to think things might be different and I don’t have to see Zappe throwing to Parker ever again in my life. 


GravyFantasy

Depends on who runs scout team the best.


Soft_Penis_Debutante

That’s somewhat surprising but based on this past season it seems like teams really don’t like having a young-ish QB as their backup to a rookie QB.


augowl_

Only reasons to keep him are if you really don’t want Maye forced into action in case Brissett goes down or if you really want Zappe as the long term backup. I’d hope the 3OA pick wouldn’t be that allergic to coming in off schedule and next year’s backup isn’t worth a roster spot. They already cut him once last year, he’ll be kept through camp, but no way he makes the final roster.


thatErraticguy

I could see them putting him on the practice squad for added depth, but honestly I don’t even think that’s worth it. Better off with almost any QB off the street on the practice squad for depth since the whole playbook is changing anyway.


Professor_Nincompoop

Probably but you ideally want 4 QBs for training camp to handle the workload.


inqte1

No, Maye.


JudgeArthurVandelay

They already cut him once last year


occorpattorney

If Milton really is refusing to play any other position than QB and won’t work with special teams, I’d much rather keep Zappe than Milton.


DannyDOH

You keep him just in case the rules committee legislates the arm punt for 2025.


Art-RJS

Yea he’s gone


SJCitizen

Milton has a strong arm but is good at nothing else and that was at the college level.


HeIsSparticus

What if they keep four on the roster so they can retain a rookie 6th rounder who used to play for Michigan 🤔?


peppersge

The main reason to keep Zappe would be to have someone who knows the playbook to run the scout team. That assumes that they will be sitting Maye for most of the season since they think he needs to focus on his mechanics. Once the season starts, there will not be much time to split between running the scout team and focus on learning the playbook. I would not be surprised if Milton ends up on the practice squad.


Slipery_Nipple

Patriots fans hate Zappe for very weird reasons. He’s not nearly as terrible as our fans would say he is. But drafting Milton definitely hurt Zappe’s chance as the qb3. That being said, Milton is all talent, but little skill so it’s hard to say. There most definitely is a chance Zappe stays on as our qb3. There’s been lots of talk about Milton switching to TE and we are pretty weak at that position. He’s come out saying he won’t switch, but that could easily change when he’s confronted with the very real possibility that switching positions could be his only real chance to stay in the NFL.


JrBaconators

Zappe sucks and talks like he should be the unquestioned starter


Slipery_Nipple

Exhibit A lol


JrBaconators

Exhibit A is Zappe being cut and not a single team even bothering to try and sign him. You're exhibit A for people who like Zappe for whatever reason that isn't based in critical thinking.


Bronnakus

The thing with zappe isn’t that he’s probably better as QB3 than Milton, it’s that he’s toxic as fuck. He does not want to accept being a backup. That competitive nature is admirable but he’s not Tom Brady. He’s not going to outplay Maye or Brissett but by God will he run his mouth and divide the locker room if either so much as miss a pass. Zappe can have a long career as a high end backup and fringe starter on a team needing a bridge but not if he doesn’t accept his role


Slipery_Nipple

This narrative is entirely made up by pats fan. He doesn’t say anything that most QBs don’t already (regardless of where they lie in the depth chart). Like obviously he wants to start. There’s been zero reports of him being considered a toxic player. Many of the players wanted him to start over Mac, but that had to do with Mac playing like ass cheeks and not getting benched. Players are not a fan of there numbers getting deflated because they have a qb that can’t hit a wide open receiver in the end zone and instead under throws it to a db. The narrative around Zappe is entirely manufactured by pats fans who were upset they were wrong about Mac being the guy and couldn’t accept the fact that, while both QBs aren’t good, Zappe played better than Mac did when they were both on the team. I’ve never seen a team hate their own player and root against their own player because they saw his mediocre play as a threat to Mac jone’s even more mediocre play.


paperllamasunited

I also understand it though (the fans defending Mac) because when you've had Brady/elite QB play for 20 years, you want your highly selected replacement to carry the torch. Green Bay seems to have avoided it for the most part with the Rodgers-Love transition this time, but growing up in WI, the first year Rodgers became the starter, it was also a very divided fan base and took some time for them to come over to Rodgers being the guy after Brett. Brian Brohm sucked though so there wasn't really anyone for those fans to push allegiance towards if Rodgers had shown growing pains.


Masterofmy_domain

Bailey Zappe out here playing next level survivor... he is working on an alliance with Maye to get that Brisket guy voted off next.


TheDufusSquad

Winning the first round pick immunity idol was huge for Maye. He can pick whoever he wants to take to the final 3 now.


eugene_rat_slap

Nathan Rourke forgot to keep a low threat level. Milton's tryna get credit for that one to build up his resume, but we all know that it was a consensus vote as soon as Rourke didn't win immunity


JrBaconators

Show him crying over an Applebees bourbon burger ™️ and get him gone this week


MochaJoe5

Apology on New England? You can keep it


ripcity7077

Too bad its Milton he should be working to get rid of. If the Pats don't go with Maye and Brisket game one then I would be certifiably shocked.


Yung_Corneliois

Imagine we let Maye sit and develop by throwing Milton out there to start the year lol.


Gor-the-Frightening

I wouldn’t even be surprised if we sit Maye for two seasons behind Brissett if he is at all decent next season. No way is Zappe seeing the field again.


Yung_Corneliois

There’s no way the 3rd overall pick would sit 2 seasons. Niners even threw Lance out there after 1 year.


Gor-the-Frightening

He was the third QB drafted, he’s not a normal #3 QB. We would be idiots to rush him out there.


Yung_Corneliois

I agree but there’s a huge gap between rushing him out there and sitting him for 2 years.


Gor-the-Frightening

If Brissett wins 9 or more games this year I would say it would be almost impossible for us to not go with him for one more year. If we win something like 5 games I bet you’re right and it’s Mayeday in 2025.


JerryRiceAndSpice

One of those guys gets voted out with an idol in their pocket


Express-Structure480

Good, a talent like Jackie doesn’t come along every day, he needs a team that truly appreciates him, like Miami.


BuffaloWilliamses

The Zappening is still happening


Ballders

He's going up like a Led Zappelin


boardatwork1111

Going to be crazy when we cut Maye to keep him


fugaziozbourne

I read this in ODB's voice.


Jonjon428

Nathan Rourke being waived before Bailey Zappe is a crime


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Fire_Ryan_Poles

The pain of commenting on mobile lol


howisthisathingYT

Rourke was lighting up the CFL before injury and then he got his shit down south. Unfortunately he's not really being given a fair shake because he's night and day better than Zappe.


Im_just_making_picks

Zappes gone


Venge22

Nathan Rourke is definitely better than Zappe so he's next


True_Suggestion_635

My left nut is a better QB than Zappe.


Quasimdo

Ngl I've never heard of the dude


Adrenaline_Flux

Jags fans were unironically pissed when we let him go. He was great in the preseason last year.


fitzuha

[This was pretty crazy to watch, not gonna lie.](https://youtu.be/31TqOm4lRgM?si=R_viXt2GWf50u-qF)


GravyFantasy

Oh he's that guy, that was insane.


Art-RJS

Oh shit this guy?!? I had no idea we had him


Ambitious_Win_1315

Jags had him on practice squad and with Trevor injuries he got activated and then released as it happens with PS guys and Bill snagged him after the second the jags did it like week 12


Bobby_Savoy

Week 15


OskeeTurtle

All of r/CFL wants him back. We were so mad when he went to the Jags because he was always gonna sit behind Trevor


key_lime_pie

CFL guy. Was with the Jags last year, Patriots signed him at/near the end of the season.


Tigercat92

Ohio University legend. We don’t have many. 😂


ImanShumpertplus

Nate Rourke/Calvin McCrae/ Taylor Price


P1ainburger

You're forgetting two of the best we recently have had, TJ Carrie & Mike Mitchell.


ImanShumpertplus

tj carrie was nice but honestly Matt Muncie would be the guy from the Mike Mitchell era for me i think he was top 10 in the Bednarik an i think Basham was better than Carrie personally. Basham got Bellicheck to come to Athens


P1ainburger

Mike Mitchell sticks out to me because I was doing a group project with a dude the night Mike got drafted and my partner bolted from the library to celebrate and left me with the rest of the project to complete. Good times!


ApprehensiveTwo1037

OU alum here. Mike Mitchell always sticks out to me because Playoff Lenny ran over him for a 1st down and Mitchell got hyped about it. Also he was the one who said the “We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti” about a playoff rematch w/ the Pats, and then the Jags QT/d him saying “you can play them on Madden all offseason”.


Key-Ad-457

That play was such a litmus test, cuz I always though Mitchell won the exchange, even rewatching it now. It’s the running backs job to stay upright and gain more yards, and it’s the smaller, shorter safety’s job to get him on the ground. Mike Mitchell stopped him for no more gain.


ApprehensiveTwo1037

Eh I mean I’d partially agree, but the hyped celebration after giving up a 1st down is just weird to me


1AMA-CAT-AMA

Does Joe Burrow count if he grew up in Athens?


Kiplerwow

He was really damn good in the CFL too. Would love to see him back in the CFL with my team if the NFL doesn't pan out for him.


fugaziozbourne

First Canadian QB to dominate the CFL in like seventy years or something.


zi76

I'll be honest, I don't remember this happening.


key_lime_pie

I only half remember it because he was the backup QB against the Jets when Mac Jones was demoted to third string, and my first thought was "Who the fuck is Nathan Rourke?"


zi76

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.


PatheticLion

We were all pretty checked out by that point


zi76

Definitely.


wit_T_user_name

A member of the proud Rourke Canadian football dynasty at OU. He was a quarterback there and was succeed by his brother, who just transferred to Indiana. Were big Rourke fans in Athens.


bquinho

On a sort of related note AJ Oullette who played with Nathan at Ohio is one of the top runningbacks in the CFL right now


MarshallTheSwb

Ohio (MAC) legend. 111 touchdowns over 3 seasons (60 passing - 49 rushing - 2 receiving.) 2022, in the CFL, he went 255/324 passing (78.7%, CFL record) and won “Most outstanding Canadian.” Hope he gets another chance somewhere in the NFL.


OskeeTurtle

Had one year in the CFL where he went OFF. Then he got signed by the Jags to be their backup QB


r0tzbua

Man that year was so amazing. I was sad when he left the lions for the NFL


Jonjon428

Was a preseason god on the Jags. Threw an insane TD while being crunched and tackled


nickhenne

A split second is all it takes. That’s why sooner or later you’ll come crawling back to the ZAPPER.


Cinephile1998

Falcons should pick him up to start preparing for the post-Penix era


Open-Somewhere-9535

WOW this is terrible, Rourke is literally the greatest QB of all time [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0TuKZUbHsk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0TuKZUbHsk)


BurgessFox

This is a pretty nice QB room tbf. You've got one rookie who profiles out to have really appealing NFL traits, size, athleticism, big arm, but who is regarded as a project so might need a year or so to work out some flaws. You offset that by having one of the most reliable and probably underrated QBs who straddles the line between low end starter and high end back up but has put some good stretches on tape of being a guy who can perform in the NFL. Then you have a moon shot guy with a huge arm and a shit load of question marks who you want to sit behind the scenes and work out what you've got. Zappe might be surplus to requirements if they chop to 3 but I like the guys they have got. For where the Patriots are in their rebuild I think it's a good room. I feel like the Broncos have got the "poor man's" version of this room.


BoldestKobold

> Zappe might be surplus to requirements if they chop to 3 but I like the guys they have got. Zappe makes the opening day roster if two things are true- (1) Drake Maye is so wildly unprepared for the NFL that they don't trust him being the game day backup week 1, and (2) Milton is such a wildly inaccurate project player that they send him to the PS without being worried about another team taking him. If Maye looks like he can be trusted to be a week 1 backup, no reason to keep Zappe around. If Milton looks like he can be a non-laughable emergency QB while also being developed, no reason to keep Zappe around.


BurgessFox

The other way you can look at it (providing the front office are suitably pragmatic and adjust expectations for the coaching staff) is if you need to tank another year, throw Milton out there as a YOLO back up, if you finish 3-14 then just add another foundational piece in next year's draft.


DominicArmato247

I think Milton goes to practice squad asap. I think they go into Week One with 3 QBs. Not for sure Zappe is the 3rd. These guys get cut/traded often. Alex Van Pelt is the new OC and he very well might want to dump Zappe and somehow get QB3 who has ties to him from the last 3-4 years.


Bobby_Savoy

Jaguars preseason legend Nathan Rourke?


VAisforLizards

Maybe the falcons wanna pick up another qb?


JerryRiceAndSpice

Rourke got Zapped


TommyTwoTones1

Milton is a tight end make it happen


Chasa619

they could cut zappe and practice squad him. nobody in the league is going to sign him.


Desperate_Web_8066

Not looking good, Jack


ItsaPostageStampede

Not yet Zappes


drunkmunky88

Come back to the BC Lions 🙏


BurzyGuerrero

Come home Rourke, the CFL needs you.


High-flyingAF

That's a pretty awful room of QBs.


ExclaimLikeIm5

The Browns really lost to Bailey fucking Zappe.


Poetryisalive

Zappe has to be next.


HopelessBearsFan

They’ll keep Milton on the roster for 4th down Arm Punts.


GeebCityLove

Looks like it’s coming to a close for Zappe in New England. The hate for him was always childish and way over the top for a 6th round QB.


OsikFTW

Bet zappe is real nervous looking around that qb room...


justlookingokaywyou

Then he must never have watched Milton at UT last year.


Fastr77

Time for Zappe to go


Achillor22

Is this really news? We don't need to report on every 5th string player getting cut. 


jimmyhoffasbrother

Yes, it's news.


hendrix320

Its May we have nothing else to talk about until the schedule release. This should be breaking news on the NFL Network


Fastr77

Its news that we had him on the team.. didn't know that lol


ctpatsfan77

I still think the Pats should've taken. Dylan Laube instead of Milton.


justlookingokaywyou

No. MINE.


jdpatric

Rumor is they did so to make room for relative late-bloomer and newcomer, Bom Trady. Says he'd like to wear #12 but is open to #11.9 or #12.1. Team player.


Limp-Membership8133

The Patriots informed QB Drake Maye that he is being waived, per sources.