Wikipedia

Bailey Zappe

Bailey Michael Zappe (/ˈzæpi/, ZAP-ee)[1] (born April 26, 1999)[2] is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football for the Houston Baptist Huskies and used his last year of eligibility with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, where he set the FBS season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Zappe was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft and mostly served as backup until becoming their primary starter near the end of the 2023 season.

Bailey Zappe
refer to caption
Zappe in 2022
No. 2 – Cleveland Browns
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1999-04-26) April 26, 1999 (age 25)
Victoria, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Victoria East
(Victoria, Texas)
College:
NFL draft:2022 / round: 4 / pick: 137
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
NCAA records
  • Most passing yards in a season: 5,967
  • Most passing touchdowns in a season (FBS): 62
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024
Passing attempts:304
Passing completions:192
Completion percentage:63.2%
TD–INT:11–12
Passing yards:2,053
Passer rating:78.5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Zappe grew up in Victoria, Texas, and attended Victoria East High School.[3] As a senior, he passed for 3,770 yards and 37 touchdowns, while rushing for 633 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns.[4] Zappe was not heavily recruited and committed to play college football at Houston Baptist University, which was his only scholarship offer.[5] Victoria East retired Zappe's No. 4 jersey in 2023.[6]

College career

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Houston Baptist

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Zappe started nine games in his first year for the Huskies at Houston Baptist, passing for 1,548 yards with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for two more touchdowns.[7] As a redshirt sophomore, he completed 357 of 560 passes for 3,811 yards with 35 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.[8][9] As a redshirt junior, he passed for 1,833 yards and 15 touchdowns against one interception in four games in a shortened season after the Southland Conference fall football season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zappe entered the transfer portal after the season.[10]

Western Kentucky

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Zappe committed to transfer to Western Kentucky University, following former Houston Baptist offensive coordinator Zach Kittley.[11][12] Zappe's top wide receiver at Houston Baptist, Jerreth Sterns, also transferred to Western Kentucky.[13][12] Zappe was named the Hilltoppers' starting quarterback going into the 2021 season.[14] In his first start for Western Kentucky, he passed for 424 yards and seven touchdowns in a 59–21 win over Tennessee-Martin.[15][16]

During the 2021 regular season, Zappe led the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) passing for 5,545 yards and throwing for 56 touchdowns. Before the 2021 Boca Raton Bowl, he had thrown for nearly 1,100 yards more than the second-ranked FBS quarterback (Will Rogers of Mississippi State), and was within striking distance of the FBS records for passing yardage and touchdowns, set by B. J. Symons of Texas Tech in 2003 and Joe Burrow of LSU in 2019, respectively. In the 2021 Boca Raton Bowl against the Appalachian State Mountaineers, he broke both records, finishing the season with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdowns.[17][a]

College statistics

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Legend
FCS/FBS record
Led the Southland/C-USA
Bold Career best
Italics Led FCS/FBS
Season Passing Rushing
Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
Houston Baptist Huskies
2017 150 266 56.4 1,548 5 10 103.9 81 50 0.6 2
2018 252 436 57.8 2,822 23 13 123.6 118 179 1.5 1
2019 357 560 63.8 3,811 35 15 136.2 53 0 0.0 0
2020 141 215 65.6 1,833 15 1 159.3 19 14 0.7 0
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
2021 476 687 69.3 5,967 62 11 167.5 51 17 0.3 3
Total 1,376 2,164 63.6 15,981 140 50 138.1 322 260 0.8 6

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		215 lb
(98 kg) 		31+3⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.88 s 1.60 s 2.74 s 4.40 s 7.19 s 30.0 in
(0.76 m)		 9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)		 35[19]
All values from NFL Combine[20][21]

New England Patriots

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2022

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The New England Patriots selected Zappe in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft with the 137th overall pick.[17] He was named the third-string quarterback for the 2022 season behind starter Mac Jones and second-string backup Brian Hoyer.[22]

When an injury rendered Jones inactive for Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers, Zappe was promoted to the second option behind Hoyer, but made his NFL debut the same game after Hoyer was injured on his first drive.[23][24] He completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown in the 27–24 loss.[25] Zappe was also the first rookie to throw a touchdown pass during the season.[26] He made his starting debut the following week against the Detroit Lions, completing 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the 29–0 shutout victory.[27] After a Week 6 victory over the Cleveland Browns, during which he threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, Zappe became the Super Bowl era's first rookie quarterback to win his first two starts and have a passer rating of at least 100 in each.[28]

Zappe was named the backup in the Week 7 Monday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears due to Jones' return, but relieved a struggling Jones during the second quarter.[29] He threw a touchdown pass on his first drive and led the Patriots to a touchdown on his second, but did not score again and threw two interceptions in the 33–14 defeat.[30] Zappe was retained as the team's backup behind Jones for the remainder the season.[31]

2023

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On August 29, 2023, Zappe was waived by the Patriots as part of final roster cuts.[32] He was then re-signed to the team's practice squad the following day.[33] On September 9, Zappe was signed to the active roster.[34]

After making several relief appearances throughout the season, Zappe was named the starter against the Los Angeles Chargers after struggles from Mac Jones.[35] The Patriots lost 6–0 as Zappe completed 13 of 25 passes for 141 yards,[36] marking Zappe's first loss as a starter. He started the following game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, leading the Patriots to a 21–18 upset win as he passed for 3 touchdowns in the first half.[37] Zappe led the Patriots to another upset primetime win over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve,[38] but struggled against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the Patriots' final two games of the season,[39] throwing for less than 300 yards, five interceptions and no touchdowns in those two games combined, including three interceptions in the first half of the Bills game alone.[40]

2024

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On August 26, 2024, Zappe was waived by the Patriots as part of the final roster cuts.[41]

Kansas City Chiefs

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On August 28, Zappe was signed to the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs.[42]

Cleveland Browns

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On October 22, Zappe was signed to the active roster of the Cleveland Browns from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad following a season-ending achilles tear for Browns' starter Deshaun Watson.[43]

NFL career statistics

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Regular season

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Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck Yds Fum Lost
2022 NE 4 2 2–0 65 92 70.7 781 8.5 53 5 3 100.9 10 0 0.0 5 0 6 40 4 3
2023 NE 10 6 2–4 127 212 59.9 1,272 6.0 48 6 9 68.8 17 83 4.9 18 1 25 191 2 1
Career 14 8 4–4 192 304 63.2 2,053 6.8 53 11 12 78.5 27 83 3.1 18 1 31 231 6 4

Notes

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  1. ^ Blaine Hawkins of Central (IA) holds the NCAA record at 63.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Record-Setting Transfer Quarterback Bailey Zappe Signs With WKU Football". Western Kentucky University Athletics. December 27, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Bailey Zappe Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Buckley, Steve (October 6, 2022). "Buckley: Bailey Zappe, Patriots quarterback and the pride of Victoria, Texas". The Athletic. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Castillo, Rey (May 23, 2020). "Former East QB thankful for college success at HBU". Victoria Advocate. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (September 24, 2020). "Houston Baptist's Bailey Zappe is America's most underrated quarterback". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Perez, Geno (January 23, 2023). "Zappe returns home for special honor". crossroadstoday.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Dean, Richard (August 24, 2018). "Bailey Zappe named HBU's starting quarterback". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Olson, Max (October 1, 2020). "Why Bailey Zappe and Houston Baptist are putting up 2020's wildest passing stats". The Athletic. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Paterik, Brice (September 9, 2020). "5 things Texas Tech fans need to know about Houston Baptist: Prolific QB play leads the Husky offense". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Haley, Craig (December 14, 2020). "Houston Baptist QB Zappe enters NCAA transfer portal". Yahoo Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "QB Zappe signs with Hilltoppers". The Daily News. December 27, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Yates, Dominique (February 3, 2021). "Western Kentucky football recruiting added transfers to 2021 class". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Olson, Max (December 27, 2020). "QB Zappe signs with Hilltoppers". The Athletic. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  14. ^ MacDonald, Jared (August 3, 2021). "Zappe named Tops' starting QB entering fall". The Daily News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Zappe's 7 TDs lead Western Kentucky rout of UT Martin, 59-21". Associated Press. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  16. ^ Hale, David M. (September 4, 2021). "The fans, the bands, the drama - Week 1 in college football reminds us of what we missed in 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Hass, Trevor (April 30, 2022). "4 things to know about Patriots draft pick Bailey Zappe, a record-setting QB". www.boston.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Central quarterback Blaine Hawkins wins the Gagliardi Trophy as the nation's top Division III player". The Des Moines Register. December 18, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  19. ^ Koons, Zach (April 25, 2022). "Wonderlic Scores for Seven of This Year's Top NFL QB Prospects Are Out". SI.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  20. ^ "Bailey Zappe Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky, QB, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "Breaking down Patriots' first depth chart of the 2022 season". CBS Boston. August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  23. ^ Reiss, Mike (September 30, 2022). "New England Patriots rule out QB Mac Jones; Brian Hoyer gets start vs. Green Bay Packers". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  24. ^ Benjamin, Cody (October 2, 2022). "Patriots' Brian Hoyer leaves Week 4 vs. Packers with head injury; rookie Bailey Zappe takes over at QB". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  25. ^ Reiss, Mike (October 2, 2022). "Zappe replaces hurt Hoyer; Pats fall to Pack in OT". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  26. ^ Reiss, Mike (October 2, 2022). "Patriots rookie QB Bailey Zappe throws first career touchdown pass". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  27. ^ McCarriston, Shanna (October 9, 2022). "Lions vs. Patriots score, takeaways: New England blanks Detroit in rookie Bailey Zappe's first NFL start". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  28. ^ Goss, Nick (October 16, 2022). "Bailey Zappe becomes first NFL rookie QB ever to achieve this feat". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  29. ^ Bird, Hayden (October 25, 2022). "5 takeaways from the Patriots' loss to the Bears as the Bailey Zappe vs. Mac Jones debate persists". Boston.com. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  30. ^ Benjamin, Cody (October 25, 2022). "Patriots bench Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe vs. Bears; rookie QB struggles after hot start in 'MNF' loss". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  31. ^ "Mac Jones will Start Sunday When the Pats Battle the Jets". NESN. October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  32. ^ Simmons, Myles (August 29, 2023). "Patriots waive Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham". NBCSports.com. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  33. ^ Shook, Nick (August 30, 2023). "Patriots signing Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham to practice squad after QBs clear waivers". NFL.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  34. ^ "Sources: Pats plan to add Zappe, release Corral". ESPN.com. September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  35. ^ Ryan, Conor. "Bailey Zappe gets start as Patriots QB against Chargers". www.boston.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  36. ^ "Patriots-Chargers takeaways: Pats offense finds new low in shutout loss". Yahoo Sports. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  37. ^ McElroy, Jordy (December 8, 2023). "Instant analysis: Patriots, Bailey Zappe stun Steelers in 21-18 win on Thursday". Patriots Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  38. ^ Graham, Pat (December 25, 2023). "Patriots turn rough start into memorable finish in 26-23 victory over Broncos". AP News. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  39. ^ Magliozzi, Connor (January 7, 2024). "Patriots end season with 17-3 loss to Jets". wabi.tv. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  40. ^ McElroy, Jordy (December 31, 2023). "Twitter reacts to Bailey Zappe throwing three interceptions in first half". Patriots Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  41. ^ Russini, Dianna (August 27, 2024). "Patriots cut Bailey Zappe; Brock Purdy, Skylar Thompson only 2022 QBs still with team that drafted them". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  42. ^ Shook, Nick (August 28, 2024). "Chiefs to sign ex-Patriots starting QB Bailey Zappe to practice squad". NFL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  43. ^ Patra, Kevin (October 22, 2024). "Browns signing backup QB Bailey Zappe off Chiefs practice squad". NFL.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
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