Chiefs Reunite With Quarterback Who Was Stolen Away in the Past: Report

The Kansas City Chiefs made their next move in the ongoing battle to retain the rights of backup quarterback Bailey Zappe on March 14.

Following his release from the New England Patriots after 2024 training camp, the Chiefs signed Zappe to the practice squad, hoping to try their luck at developing the former fourth-round pick. He was then poached by the Cleveland Browns in October, after the Deshaun Watson injury.

Now that he’s an unrestricted free agent again, it appears Zappe would like to continue what he started with the Chiefs according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.

“The Chiefs are re-signing QB Bailey Zappe to a one-year deal, per source,” Pelissero reported on Friday, March 14. “So, Kansas City’s QB room now includes Patrick Mahomes, Gardner Minshew and Zappe, the former Patriots draft pick who finished last season in KC.”

The NFL insider also forgot one more KC signal-caller, recent resident practice squad QB Chris Oladokun — who re-signed on a reserve/future contract after the Super Bowl.

Bailey Zappe Will Likely Compete With Chris Oladokun for Chiefs’ QB3 Role in 2025

On a roster as strong as Kansas City’s, there are no free rides. Generally, the Chiefs hold a competition for the QB3 role every summer, despite having Mahomes and a veteran backup in the building already.

This year, it appears Zappe will face off against Oladokun for that job, which will most likely be a practice squad position. As of now, Zappe enters as the heavy favorite to win that camp competition for a couple of reasons.

For starters, the Chiefs brought in Zappe after training camp from outside the organization last year — cutting Oladokun and Ian Book in the process. So, we already know that KC thinks Zappe has more potential.

He also has prior experience starting games at the NFL level, with 8 starts in New England (14 appearances) and 1 start in Cleveland. The highest level Oladokun has ever played at is an NFL preseason game.

Over the course of his professional career, Zappe holds a 62.1 completion percentage while throwing for 148.2 yards per game. His career passer rating is a 76.0 with a touchdown to interception ratio of 12-to-14.

Often described as a gunslinger throughout his NFL journey, Zappe put up prolific numbers during his 2021 campaign in college. That year he threw for 5,967 yards and 62 passing touchdowns, compared to just 11 interceptions.

Perhaps, head coach Andy Reid believes he can turn Zappe into a more consistent solution at backup quarterback, rather than cycling in and out veteran signal-callers every season.

Bailey Zappe Signing Officially Closes the Book on Carson Wentz’s Tenure With Chiefs

The Minshew signing pretty much ended any and all likelihood that Carson Wentz would return in 2025, but if there was even a one percent chance, that’s percentage drops to zero following the Zappe deal.

The Chiefs rarely roster more than four quarterbacks heading into Organized Team Activities, and Wentz isn’t going to compete with Zappe and Oladokun for a QB3 role.

It’s more likely that Wentz is holding out hope for a bridge QB job, perhaps in Cleveland, New York (Giants) or Tennessee.

The former MVP finalist started just one regular season game for the Chiefs, passing for a shaky 118 yards and just 5 first downs. He recorded a completion percentage of 63.2 and a passer rating of 80.6. Wentz was also sacked 4 times.