Following the departure of Tom Brady, the New England Patriots were ranked near the bottom of the NFL in nearly every offensive category. Hence, improving their offensive lineup has become a major challenge especially in the QB room for Bill Belichick’s men.
The squad was observed making changes to its roster over the course of a few days after spending the entire offseason looking for Mac Jones’ backup. Their depth chart has returned to its original position after a week-long rearrangement that sparked concerns about the team’s quarterback situation.
Corral’s future is uncertain as the Patriots place him on the left squad list
Matt Corral reportedly missed two days of practice, walkthrough, or meetings at the Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are completely unaware of the cause of the player’s absence because he left without any official notice. The franchise put him on the left squad/exempt list as a result of his unexpected absence.
Matt was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Due to a Lisfranc injury sustained during a preseason game, he was sidelined for the entirety of his first season.
On August 31, the Patriots claimed him off waivers, and he appeared to be on track to succeed Mac Jones as the team’s backup quarterback. Unfortunately, that was not to be.
Patriots add Bailey Zappe to roster ahead of week 1 clash with Eagles
To name Corral as their QB2, the Patriots released Zappe at the final roster cutdown on August 29. It was just a sudden move from the Patriots that left the fans stunned. One day later, the organization re-signed him to the practice squad.
Several other teams expressed their interest in Zappe and were inclined to sign him to their practice squads, but after having hope from the Patriots, he decided not to leave the team. Head coach Bill Belichick intimated in an interview with the Boston Herald that they would continue to follow up with Zappe to see if they might collaborate with him once more.
“There’s a number of things involved there. But glad to have Bailey to continue to work with him. Still think he’s a good, young, developing player, and so we’ll keep working with him.”
Bailey’s choice was extremely fortunate for him because, on Saturday, the Patriots added him to the 53-man roster after moving Corral to the left squad list. Through their clever maneuver with Zappe, he is now positioned to serve as Jones’ primary backup in Sunday’s season-opening contest against the reigning NFC champions Philadelphia Eagles.
However, it should be noted that the Bill Belichick’s squad can still make a significant play with the quarterback’s future because the team did not fully sever connections with Corral.
