Patriots Zappe 'Blindsided' By Belichick Cut

New England Patriots fans were stunned to see Bailey Zappe's name on the list of Bill Belichick's cuts to 53. Turns out, so was Zappe.

In the end, what the New England Patriots did in their roster-juggling moves paid off. They've got Mac Jones as their starter and they rolled the dice that Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham could be cut, left unclaimed, and then re-signed.

Nevertheless, the Zappe was surprising to many ... including, it seems, Zappe himself.

"The word that I got from somebody in Zappe's camp was 'blindsided,''' reports Patriots.com's Evan Lazar. 'We were as blindsided as you.'"

Zappe is back in New England, though while at one time he seemed to be in competition with Jones for the top job, he is now here with a different role. ... and as part of a crowd. Indeed, at this moment, he's not even necessarily penciled in as Jones' backup, as the Patriots have put Zappe on the practice squad, right alongside Cunningham ... with a newcomer, former Panthers third-round pick Matt Corral, also now expected to be in the mix for New England's QB2 spot.

From NFL Media's Ian Rapoport: "Mac Jones [is] still the starter on the 53-man roster but he is no longer the only quarterback ... My understanding is that Corral and Zappe will compete for the backup job. ... But definitely an intriguing flier that the Patriots just took on a young quarterback.''

Actually, all four of the involved QB's are "young,'' with the three guys behind Jones all representing "fliers'' having been taken. And the fact coach Bill Belichick views competition as a healthy thing? Zappe and the other candidates to be the No. 2 guy surely won't be "blindsided'' by that.