Rob Gronkowski Advises Patriots To Free Bailey Zappe For Drake Maye

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is a great fan of quarterback Bailey Zappe. Moreover, Gronk wants Zappe to get the playing time he deserves even if it means sending him to another team. The four-time NBA champion made these remarks following the Patriots first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

Patriots fans really like Zappe and his potential, but they’d love to see more from first-round selection Drake Maye. The rookie quarterback played seven snaps in his first game with the Patriots and fans weren’t having it. They even booed the third-year quarterback when he was asked to step into game action at Gillette Stadium. Fans don’t hate Zappe, but they definitely prefer seeing Maye on the field.

Zappe joined his Patriots teammates in the final five minutes of the first quarter and played well into the third quarter. It wasn’t his best performance and Joe Milton III sure outperformed him. The rookie finished the game with an excellent showing which will probably keep him high on the depth chart.

Gronkowski wants Zappe to play somewhere else

Gronk got honest about Zappe and delivered a great tip for the Patriots. Maye needs more reps, but Zappe is taking reps from younger quarterbacks.

“My hot take is that Bailey Zappe needs to be freed,” Gronk said on FS1’s “First Things First” on Friday. “They either got to let him go or they got to trade him because he’s taking away reps from Drake Maye. He’s taking away reps from Joe Milton. And Bailey Zappe is not going to be on that team by the end of training camp. And Bailey Zappe needs to be freed so he can go to another team and show what he has.”

Let’s see if Jerod Mayo takes this advice into consideration. He did promise to use Maye more in the upcoming game against the Philadelphia Eagles.