FOXBOROUGH, Mass – While this season has been tumultuous for the New England Patriots, no one has been on more of a rollercoaster ride that Bailey Zappe.  

After serving as Mac Jones' backup last year, all signs pointed to things being the same heading into the 2023 season. However, a poor performance during the spring and in training camp left the Patriots with a tough decision, and they ultimately decided to waive Zappe on cutdown day before re-signing him to the practice squad. His time there was short lived, being brought back to the 53-man roster and things seemed fairly normal. 

Yet, with Jones being benched and Zappe going in to replace him, the second-year quarterback wasn't able to provide a spark for the offense. So in Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, New England took a different approach, signing Malik Cunningham to the active roster from the practice squad, with him serving as the backup quarterback. Zappe was moved to be the emergency third. 

“There’s been some tough parts," Zappe told A to Z Sports on Wednesday. "Been the lowest of the lows getting cut and then signing back to my rookie contract basically like nothing ever happened. So I mean it’s been the lowest of the lows going back to the highest of the highs. So, I’m just trying to say the same person every day."

“Of course there were mistakes made by me in the preseason, spring, and all that stuff, and that’s stuff that we’ve continued to fix," he added. "But I would say everyday I get more and more comfortable in this offense.” 

The rule of the third quarterback is that they cannot enter the game unless both quarterbacks are injured and unable to play. While he was aware of that, he didn't let it affect his mentality. 

“Everybody knows the rule of it,” Zappe said about being the third quarterback. “I was trying to be the best teammate I could and trying to help out the team and try and get a win.”

The news of Cunningham being signed to the 53-man roster broke on Saturday, but it appears that Zappe and the others had an idea of this happening earlier in the week. 

“Yeah, they let me know. They do a really good job here of communication, so I was able to find out,” Zappe said. “I was preparing like I usually would, so it really didn’t change anything on the way I prepared through the week."

However, Cunningham wasn't originally brought on to be a quarterback, instead having to learn a whole new position. The Patriots were the only team to try him out as a wide receiver, and it appears he made an impression. Yet, with the recent quarterback struggles, Cunningham is being given a chance to play a little bit of both positions. 

And while it is a competition for that backup spot, Zappe doesn't allow that to get in the way of his friendship with Cunningham. 

“Malik’s done a phenomenal job. He was a great player in college and then come in here and had to learn a whole new offense along with a whole new position,” Zappe said. “He’s a very smart kid. He’s a great kid. I keep saying kid but he’s older than me… Me and him have gotten really close over these last few months. So it’s awesome to grow that relationship with him. He’s a phenomenal player. I remember watching him in college. I mean he’s an unreal player. So i think he does really great things for this team.”

The constant change in the quarterback room is something he obviously notices, but his approach each and every week remains the same. 

“Like everybody says, you approach the week like you’re the starter. You prepare like you’re the starter. You watch film like you know you’re going to get in there and play from snap one. So that’s kind of how I prepare throughout the week and taking notes, watching films, drawing plays up, just kind of get an idea of how the defense that we’re playing that week plays.”