Ian Rapoport Says Bailey Zappe is Now Competing for the Patriots QB Job. Specifically, the QB2 Job. With Matt Corral.
So with the news that Carolina's second year quarterback Matt Corral is coming to the Patriots - making him one of just a couple of dozen players claimed off waivers - that now means the draft day trade between the two went like this:
Carolina gets:
A 2022 3rd rounder, No. 94 overall, and selects Corral.
New England gets:
A 2022 4th rounder, No. 137 overall, and selects Bailey Zappe. And,
A 2023 3rd rounder, No. 76 overall, and selects hybrid LB/DB Marte Mapu.
And now the Pats have all of them. For the low, low price of ... nothing. Making it essentially one of those draft deals where Belichick is Dewey Oxberger and the other GM is Cruiser:
Ordinarily, "Team Picks Up Young QB Other Team Gives Up On" is a "Dog Bites Man"-type headline. I'll concede that. But what makes this one not only blogworthy but actually fascinating is that the signing comes after a week of roster chaos in Foxboro. It wasn't but a few days ago Mac Jones was the only quarterback under contract. Then the Pats gamble to leave Zappe and Malik Cunningham sitting like a package on the front porch and hope no one else swiped them paid off. And now? We've got a full blown QB Controversy on our hands. Just not the one everyone was talking about last year and most of the spring:
According to Ian Rapoport, the Patriots backup quarterback job is now an open competition:
By no means am I celebrating the addition of Corral like he's going to be the next Big Thing. When you're the fourth quarterback to come off the board in a draft so weak at the position that there was only one taken in the 1st round (Kenny Pickett, No. 20), I'm not predisposed to breaking out the good scotch to celebrate. Sure, I could cite Corral's performance at the Combine:
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Or get all giddy about his largely positive scouting report on NFL.com (emphasis mine):
Small quarterback with a big heart who has learned to play with better maturity and control without losing his edge. Corral played in a quarterback-friendly scheme with well-defined reads, so he needs to prove he can work through full-field progressions and make good decisions with the ball. He's decisive, operating with a quick-trigger release to challenge tight windows and possesses the touch to make challenging bucket throws. He's a fiercely competitive runner but needs to get his slide game up as he's not built to take the pounding from called runs or scrambles. Corral is mobile, but his poise and accuracy wane when forced to move. Discipline has benefitted Corral and he's clearly at his best when operating on-schedule and in rhythm. A spread-based scheme and a player-friendly head coach gives Corral the best opportunity to live up to his potential and challenge to become the best QB from this draft class.
Or mention that some former NFL QBs-turned-draft gurus agree with that assessment:
But I'm not predisposed to using Chris Simms' analysis unless it's to mock and ridicule Chris Simms' analysis. This is, after all, the man who routinely put Tom Brady somewhere between Sam Darnold and an electric football quarterback:
… in his power rankings.
No, I'm not getting out over my ski tips on Matt Corral. I'm just focused on the fact that Bailey Zappe, the guy a disturbing number of Patriots fans, fundamental extremists in the media, and the entire Mac Jones-hating world wanted to see named the starter - is now fighting for the backup job with a guy who was drafted 43 slots ahead of him. Was considered by some to be the best at their position in their rookie class. Played at Ole Miss as opposed to Western Kentucky. And who, by the way, has never played a down in the NFL. For those Real Housewives of Foxboro who were chanting for Zappe and booing Jones, this can't be sitting well.
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And more to the point, the Patriots waiver gamble may very well have just led to them upgrading their quarterback room, without breaking a sweat. And once again, the undisputed champion of Draft Trades and Roster Maneuvering scores another knockout.
