Was it a fever or a fever dream?
Did a fourth-round rookie quarterback really inspire hope during the most hopeless Patriots season of the Belichick era? Did those chants actually ring out that hazy Monday night last October — “Zap-pe! Zap-pe! Zap-pe!” — and echo across Gillette Stadium? And did that quarterback, once a heartbeat or ankle twist away from becoming the starter, get unceremoniously waived Tuesday?
Yes, yes and yes.
Bailey Zappe’s fall from beloved backup to the waiver wire ended with a small bounce-back Wednesday when he re-signed to the practice squad. All 31 other teams declined to pick him off waivers, which allowed Zappe to return to New England. He freely chose the Patriots.
But did the Patriots choose him, or fail to find a suitable replacement?
Conflicting reports arose Wednesday, with some indicating the Pats preferred a veteran backup for Mac Jones. Others declared, despite waiving him, Zappe remained their ideal No. 2. Cutting Zappe was merely a calculated risk to clear a roster spot for an extra offensive linemen, of which they now have 11.
What’s clear, whether in the short-term or long-term, is the Patriots saw value in cutting bait. They didn’t want Zappe on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they needed a quarterback. He was available. So, they signed him.
Kendrick Bourne happy to be with Patriots through trades, cutdowns
Zappe's release, at the very least, served as a reminder there are no sacred cows in Foxboro. Bill Belichick can, has and will sacrifice virtually anything at the altar of winning, his top backup quarterback included. If the Cardinals or any other quarterback-needy team had claimed him, the Patriots would have been stuck with Jones and rookie Malik Cunningham, who went undrafted, unclaimed on waivers and attempted all of four passes this preseason.
Surely, the Pats would have also added a crusty veteran from the short list of best available quarterbacks, a list that features Colt McCoy (presently injured), Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Joe Flacco and Jeff Driskel. But for what? So they could keep ... a fifth offensive tackle in Tyrone Wheatley Jr.?
Of course, Zappe returned, and the Pats survived their gamble. Though briefly, Zappe joined that short list because of his gross performances in preseason and training camp. He routinely took sacks and had passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. His six interceptions during competitive team periods in practice led all quarterbacks.
Team sources shared with the Herald's Doug Kyed that Zappe had failed on "multiple levels" in Bill O'Brien's offense. Last year, Zappe was a favorite of ex-quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, who famously butted heads with Jones. Nowadays, O'Brien and Jones speak about one another like they might skip into the team's practice field holding hands.
As for Zappe, he was left holding his helmet Wednesday. Still, he practiced like he had all of training camp. Teammates described practice as being no different than the previous five weeks. And yet, so much has changed.
To recap, Belichick declined to name Jones the starter from the moment he took the reins back from Zappe upon recovering from a high ankle sprain late last October. In the offseason, Belichick wouldn't so much as utter Jones' name. Asked in late July, Belichick praised his starting quarterback, then sprinkled kind words on Zappe and former No. 3 quarterback Trace McSorley.
But, most glaringly, Belichick left the door open to a quarterback competition.
“We’ll see how those guys do when the real football starts, pads come on, there’s a little more pass rush and so forth, but they can all run the offense efficiently. They’re all smart,” Belichick told SiriusXM. “They all handle what we do so that everybody else can operate efficiently. So, we’ll give them a chance to compete and see how it goes.”
How it went was Zappe got waived Tuesday, while Jones inspired quotes like these from Kendrick Bourne.
"I think Mac is in a great place as the leader, and I think that trickles to the whole team," he told reporters. "So believing in him and believing in each other, I think we're going into the game with a lot of confidence."
But where was Zappe's confidence after his stunning release? What about the team's confidence in him? How did he see his future in New England?
Who knows?
The Patriots withheld Zappe from the media Wednesday, keeping the Fever away from the masses like it had never spread in the first place.
