Bailey Zappe has attempted 15 passes in his NFL career, but the Detroit Lions have a meaty scouting report on the New England Patriots’ presumptive starting quarterback for Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium, thanks to their time coaching Zappe in the Senior Bowl.
“Highly intelligent,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week. “I mean, he picked up the offense very quickly. Very composed. Just had a good command of the huddle. Teammates respected him. You could tell they listened to him, and he kind of plays that way.”
Campbell and the Lions staff spent a week working with Zappe at the Senior Bowl college all-star game this winter, when they coached the American team and Zappe was one of six quarterbacks selected for the game.
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The Lions were in the market for quarterback help at the time, and Zappe was considered the best of the potential mid-round selections. He set the NCAA’s single-season record for passing yards and touchdowns in his lone season with the Hilltoppers, but lacked NFL size and arm talent.
The Patriots took Zappe with the 32nd pick of the fourth round and kept him as their third-string quarterback to start the year.
Second-year Patriots starter Mac Jones is doubtful to play Sunday because of a high ankle sprain, and backup Brian Hoyer, a longtime veteran and former Michigan State standout, suffered a brain injury and was placed on injured reserve this week.
Campbell said the Lions prepared as if Jones was playing, but “knowing that if it’s Zappe, it’ll be a little crisper, little cleaner package.”
Zappe completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, attempting just one pass of any distance in the middle of the field. Campbell said he does not expect New England’s run-first offensive approach to change no matter who is at quarterback.
“I thought they did a good job with him of just trying to get him settled in and being smart and not putting him in a bind, continue to run the football, do things to get the ball out, and then a little play-action,” Campbell said. “But I thought that (Patriots offensive play-caller Matt) Patricia called a good game, getting them in there. And I know, if he’s the guy, he’ll be much more settled. That’s hard for a rookie, to just go in there and there you go, you’re rolling. So they’ll have a good plan for him. But he’s certainly — he’s got the FBI (football intelligence) for sure.”
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Earth tones
Maurice Alexander returned three kicks for 62 yards and played two offensive snaps in his NFL debut last week, an experience he called “a dream come true.”
“It was one of the best accomplishments I feel like I’ve accomplished since I’ve been on this earth,” he said.
Alexander spent nearly two years out of football after leaving Florida International in 2020, before joining the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars this spring. He said friends from his native Florida reached out to him this week to tell him he was motivation for them to keep chasing their dreams.
Along with being an inspiration for friends back home, Alexander is the latest proof non-NFL professional football might have a future.
Dallas Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin is the only former USFL player currently on a 53-man roster, but at least nine players who played in the league are on NFL practice squads. The Lions have two ex-USFL players on their practice squad: Alexander and former Tampa Bay Bandits offensive lineman Darrin Paulo.
“I think it’s great,” Campbell said. “It gives you a sneak peek at guys with a certain talent level. There are better players in there, and then to be able to watch them and compete and see — Alexander, I mean he’s got some, he’s got a knack in the return game, and then in the meantime, he’s growing as a receiver. I think anything like that, those leagues certainly help you, man. And it gives them a chance to play football. You can watch them in action against more than college talent, so it’s good.”
Alexander said he holds his time in the USFL in high regard. He tries to repost social media messages whenever the league mentions him on one of its platforms, and he has stayed in regular contact with Turpin and others during their journey to the NFL.
“I take pride in that cause without USFL, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to really be here,” Alexander said. “That league gave me that extra stepping stool to get where I’m at now and I’m thankful for it.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.