Patriots Make QB Roster Moves With Zappe, Corral

The New England Patriots will open the regular season employing the same quarterback depth chart with which they began training camp.

FOXBORO — The New England Patriots have apparently hit the ‘reset button’ regarding their reserve quarterback situation.

In anticipation of their Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the Pats have signed quarterback Bailey Zappe to the 53-man roster, while releasing the newly-acquired Matt Corral, per an NFL Network report.  

Zappe is immediately expected to reclaim his duties as the team’s top backup behind starter Mac Jones. 

The Patriots raised the eyebrow of many a Pats fan when they waived Zappe and undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham during mandatory roster cutdowns last Tuesday. While each player was subject to claim by all remaining NFL teams, both Zappe and Cunningham cleared waivers, and subsequently were signed to the Pats practice squad.

While many believed Cunningham’s stay on the practice squad to be inevitable, Zappe’s release was notably more surprising. For much of training camp and the preseason, the second-year signal caller was rumored to be in competition with Jones for the starting job — armed with an impressive rookie resume. When Jones was sidelined due to a high ankle sprain last October, Zappe performed well. The rookie demonstrated poise within the Patriots system, leading the team to a 2-0 record as a starter.

However, Zappe’s preseason performance down the stretch undoubtedly caused his stock to fall. Zappe ultimately finished the preseason by going 30 for 51 (58.8 percent) for 253 yards with one touchdown and three fumbles in their preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans. As such, the Western Kentucky product was rumored to have fallen out of favor with the Pats coaching staff. 

Still, Zappe’s knowledge and fit within the system has him back on the game day roster. 

In turn, the Pats jettison Corral, who they claimed off waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 30.  The Panthers’ third-round pick in 2022 missed his entire rookie season with a Lisfranc injury suffered during a preseason matchup against New England at Gillette Stadium.

In spite of his rather thin pro-level resume, Corral’s skill set had intrigued both coach Bill Belichick and coordinator Bill O’Brien for quite some time. Having served under coach Lane Kiffin during his collegiate career at Ole Miss, the 24-year-old ran the Rebels’ spread RPO system at a high-level. Ironically, Jones also ran an RPO-heavy scheme during his time at Alabama under coach Nick Saban. Kiffin served as offensive coordinator under Saban from 2014-16. While the coaching tree connection between the two does not guarantee that he will recapture his collegiate success in New England, Corral’s familiarity with O’Brien’s offense was expected to help him conquer the Patriots’ learning curve sooner than expected. 

Though Corral participated in a handful of practices with the Pats, Belichick and the coaching staff seemed hesitant to anoint Corral as Jones’ full-time understudy. Unfortunately, his absence from Friday’s practice seemed to indicate that a changing of the guard below Jones on the quarterback depth chart was imminent. 

New England will now head into their season-opener with the same quarterback depth chart with Jones as the first option, Zappe as the second option, and Cunningham on the practice squad. 

Kickoff between the Pats and Eagles is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday from Gillette Stadium.