Chiefs bring back Bailey Zappe on one-year deal
After bringing in quarterback Gardner Minshew, the Chiefs are also bringing back a familiar face to their QBs room.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Kansas City has agreed to terms with Bailey Zappe on a one-year deal.
Zappe, 25, was on the Chiefs' practice squad for the first several weeks of the regular season last year after he'd been cut by the Patriots. He was not active for any games.
Zappe then signed with Cleveland's 53-man roster and spent the rest of the year with the club. He started the Week 18 finale against the Ravens for his only action of the season, completing 16-of-31 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
A Patriots fourth-round pick in 2022, Zappe has appeared in 15 games with nine starts. He was 2-0 in his two stars with New England as a rookie but 2-4 in 2023.
Zappe has completed 62.1 percent of his career passes for 2,223 yards with 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
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Using opponents' projected win totals to project schedule strength, New England has the second easiest schedule in the NFL via Sharp Football Analysis. Maybe that helps New England get in playoff contention. Plenty of things have to go right. The defense has to mesh. The offensive line has to be much better. The running back tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson could be very productive, and maybe Drake Maye elevates a passing game that has some interesting pieces at receiver but plenty of concerns, too. Mike Vrabel usually got the most out of his teams when he was the Titans head coach, which should transfer to the Patriots. Between Vrabel, Maye, some good running backs, major improvements on defense and a weak schedule, you can see a path for the Patriots to be a playoff contender. Given how bad New England was the last two seasons, that would be a great start to Vrabel's tenure. Nightmare scenario Plenty of teams have great offseasons and it doesn't result in a great record. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel understands that. Advertisement "We won March. Amazing. Which is something that's comical," Vrabel said. "We're never trying to just win March, we're trying to be ready when the season goes, and it's a long process." The Patriots added 10 players this offseason who are projected starters, according to depth charts. That doesn't count running back TreVeyon Henderson, who will have a big role. An overhaul was needed and it looks good on paper, but that's a lot of change in one offseason. It's normal to look at a team that added many new players and envision everyone fitting together perfectly. How often does that happen? For example, Milton Williams had great stretches of play with the Eagles, but now he'll need to play more snaps and he won't be alongside a dominant player like Jalen Carter anymore. And while Drake Maye looks like the real deal, he has just 12 NFL starts. It's hard to imagine the Patriots will be as bad as last season, but if the improvement is only a win or two it would be a disappointment. The crystal ball says The Patriots might be way too low in these rankings. Maybe the oddsmakers are right and New England has a huge improvement. There's just a lot of change to account for, and the Patriots have been miserable for two straight seasons. Mike Vrabel is a very good coach and most of the players the Patriots brought in are big upgrades. Still, it's hard to predict any team to more than double its win total from the season before. No matter how many wins the Patriots get, this will be a growth season. Vrabel will start establishing a culture. Drake Maye will continue to emerge as a franchise quarterback. The product on the field will look completely different after adding many impact players. The rebuild is practically over already; New England can move on to figuring out how to get back to AFC East dominance.
