Patriots Rumors: Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham Waived; Mac Jones Only QB on Roster

The New England Patriots made a couple of surprising moves at the quarterback position ahead of Tuesday's 53-man roster deadline.

New England has waived Bailey Zappe, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The franchise has also waived undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe.

Mac Jones is now the only quarterback on New England's roster as Trace McSorley was also released on Monday.

The Patriots selected Zappe in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Western Kentucky, and he was quite impressive in two starts filling in for an injured Jones last season as "Zappe Fever" ignited in New England.

The 24-year-old completed 74.5 percent of his passes for 497 yards and three touchdowns against one interception in those two starts, which were wins over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

Zappe appeared in four games total, completing 70.7 percent of his passes for 781 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.

New England's decision to cut Zappe comes after his disappointing performance in a 23-7 preseason loss to the Tennessee Titans on Friday in which he went 8-for-15 for 57 yards. He was also sacked four times and fumbled three times in the loss.

Although Zappe has struggled throughout training camp in Bill O'Brien's offense, he was still widely expected to be Jones' backup in 2023. Now it's unclear who will have that role.

Cunningham, meanwhile, was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Louisville this offseason, and the franchise was using him as sort of a utility man in the offense as he saw time at quarterback and wide receiver.

The 24-year-old was 3-of-6 passing for 19 yards and he rushed for 39 yards on six carries during the preseason. He also caught one pass and took a kickoff for 21 yards.

With Zappe and Cunningham off the roster, the Patriots will surely be searching the market for a backup to Jones in the coming days.