Bailey Michael Zappe is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football at Houston Baptist and used his last year of eligibility at Western Kentucky. Zappe was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He was named the third-string quarterback for the 2022 season behind starter Mac Jones and second-string backup Brian Hoyer.

Zappe was promoted to the second option in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers due to an injury to Jones but made his NFL debut the same game after Hoyer was injured during the first quarter.

He completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown in the 27–24 loss. Zappe was also the first rookie quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in 2022.

Bailey Zappe College: What school did Bailey Zappe go to?

Zappe was not heavily recruited and committed to play college football at Houston Baptist, which was his only scholarship offer.

Zappe committed to transfer to Western Kentucky, following former HBU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley.  Zappe’s top wide receiver at HBU, Jerreth Sterns, also transferred to WKU. He was named the Hilltoppers’ starting quarterback going into the 2021 season.

In his first start for Western Kentucky, he passed for 424 yards and seven touchdowns in a 59–21 win over Tennessee-Martin.

During the 2021 regular season, Zappe led the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in passing yards, with 5,545, and touchdowns, with 56.