Rob Gronkowski wants Bailey Zappe out of Patriots: “He needs to be freed”

Rob Gronkowski wants his former side to trade Bailey Zappe because he is taking reps away from rookies who will be the future starters.

Rob Gronkowski wants Bailey Zappe out of Patriots: “He needs to be freed”

Rob Gronkowski wants Patriots to trade Bailey Zappe (Image via IMAGO)

With Mac Jones no longer with the New England Patriots, Bailey Zappe has a great opportunity to possibly be the main quarterback or at least be the backup to veteran Jacoby Brissett. However, former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski wants the Patriots to trade Zappe for his own sake.

The Patriots drafted two new quarterbacks to compensate for the departure of Jones. They took Drake Maye from Oregon in the first and Joe Milton III from Tennessee in the sixth round.

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On Friday, the Patriots kicked off the preseason as the Carolina Panthers arrived at Foxborough. Head coach Jerod Mayo gave all four of them a chance, starting with Brissett, who came off after a handful of drives.

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Zappe’s turn arrived, sandwiched between the two rookies. He silenced the crowd who booed when he walked onto the pitch by helping Kevin Harris score a rushing touchdown to give Patriots the lead.

When the media asked about the unceremonious welcome from the Gillette Stadium crowd, Bailey Zappe gave a smart reply. 

It [crowd booing] really didn’t bother me, and when it’s happening this way, it didn’t bother me either. We drove down and scored, so I think they were cheering after that.
Bailey Zappe said, per Boston.com

Even though Zappe recorded 12 completions for 108 yards, Patriots fans will remember the game because of Milton. The 24-year-old completed 4 passes for 54 yards and threw a dart to JaQuae Jackson for a 38-yard touchdown.

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Rob Gronkowski wants the Patriots to trade away Bailey Zappe

While Zappe has a couple of years more experience playing in the NFL than both the rookies, Milton’s performance against the Panthers put him into the spotlight. Maye, on the other hand, is the natural heir to the Patriots starting QB job after Brissett. So, this leaves Zappe, the odd player out.

Rob Gronkowski wants Bailey Zappe out of Patriots: "He needs to be freed"
Bailey Zappe (Image via Imago)

4 time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski was a guest contributor during a recent segment of FS1’s First Things First, where he advised the Patriots to trade Zappe to a team where he can play rather than keeping him on the team where he will find chances limited.

My hot take is that Bailey Zappe needs to be freed. They gotta either let him go or trade him. He’s taking away reps from Drake Maye and Joe Milton. [Bailey] Zappe is not going to be on that team by the end of training camp. He needs to be freed so he can go to another team and show what he has [in his arsenal].
Rob Gronkowski said

Zappe, a fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky, shared the quarterback room with Mac Jones during the last 2 seasons. In that time, he completed 8 games, winning 4 and losing 4. He has thrown for 2053 yards from 192 completions, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

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