Browns name Bailey Zappe starter for season finale vs. Ravens
01/02/2025 04:10 PM
At 4:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, when the Browns and Ravens kick off in their 2024 regular season finale in Baltimore, it will officially be Zappe Hour in 374 miles away in Cleveland, Ohio. According to Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal, third-year quarterback Bailey Zappe will become the fourth quarterback to notch a start for the Cleveland Browns this season. With the start, Zappe will become the 40th quarterback to start for the Browns since the franchise returned to the NFL in the 1999 season.
Zappe was signed off of the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad back in October, shortly after Browns embattled starting quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending achilles tear. After multiple unsuccessful weeks starting Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, it’s paved the way for Zappe earn the ninth start of his career.
In his first two seasons in the NFL, Zappe started eight games for the New England Patriots, going 4-4 while throwing for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Zappe was a perfect 2-0 during his rookie season and had a cup of coffee as a national sensation, with fans in Boston clamoring for an extended opportunity to enjoy “Zappe Hour.” Now in the final week of the season, it’s fans in Cleveland who get that chance, though a matchup with the Ravens might not yield favorable results.
The Ravens are somewhere in the neighborhood of a 19-point favorite against Cleveland this Saturday, which makes sense given the fact that Baltimore can secure the AFC North title with a win, and exact some revenge from a stunning defeat at the hands of Jameis Winston and the Browns earlier in the season.
It can’t get much worse for the Browns than it has been, but frankly, for the sake of their 2025 1st Round pick, it wouldn’t be the worst outcome in the world if it did get much worse in Week 18. As things stand right now, Cleveland owns the 2nd overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, setting them up to potentially take their quarterback of the future, the top player on their board — Travis Hunter, perhaps? — or to trade the pick to a QB-needy team that is willing to part ways with numerous draft assets to move up.
The post Browns name Bailey Zappe starter for season finale vs. Ravens appeared first on ClutchPoints.
