Patriots didn’t inform Bailey Zappe he’d start against Cleveland until Saturday

Bill Belichick has been tight-lipped about the New England Patriots quarterback situation the past few weeks as Mac Jones continues to recover from the ankle injury he suffered in Week 3. This past week, the decision as to what quarterback would start against Cleveland came down to the wire.

Appearing on WEEI’s Merloni, Fauria, and Mego Show, Bailey Zappe shared that he wasn't told he’d start until Saturday.

“I think it was Saturday, the day before the game,” Zappe said. “The whole week I was preparing as if I was, or if I was a backup like I had the last few weeks. Now this week I’ll be doing the same thing, taking advantage of all the reps I get, no matter what it is, getting ready for the Bears.”

What Zappe would not share is if he took the majority of the first-team reps in practice or not. Jones, who was listed as a limited participant throughout the week, seemed to be moving on his injured ankle better that week’s past. After making the trip to Cleveland, the quarterback likely saw an increase in involvement during the week.

“I was taking advantage of the reps that I got,” Zappe said. “That’s all I can really say. I’m just getting ready for the Bears now.”

Despite the short notice, Zappe impressed yet again under center for New England. He was efficient completing 24-of-34 passes and struck several big plays in the play-action passing attack en route to his first career 300-yard passing game.

New England will now welcome the Bears to Gillette Stadium for a Monday Night showdown this week. While it seems Jones is trending to make his return, Zappe will continue to be ready if needed in the primetime matchup.

“That’ll be a great environment,” he said of Monday Night Football. “We got a long week ahead of us, lot of practices ahead of us. So, I’m just taking advantage of those practices and getting ready for Monday.”