Bailey Zappe DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe completed 16 of his 31 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions while adding two yards on two carries in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. Zappe made his first and only start of the season for the Browns in the finale while showing spotty accuracy and a lack of arm strength in the lopsided loss. His first interception came in the first quarter and was a back-breaker as it was thrown right into the hands of rookie corner Nate Wiggins, who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. The Browns turned to Dorian Thompson-Robinson to lead a drive at the end of the first quarter but he only wound up taking six snaps in the contest before the team reinserted Zappe at the beginning of the second quarter. An unrestricted free-agent heading into the offseason, Zappe will look to catch on as a backup quarterback somewhere ahead of the 2025 season.

According to Tom Withers of the Associated Press, the Cleveland Browns are giving the starting nod to quarterback Bailey Zappe in the final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon. It was reported earlier that both Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson may get an opportunity to play in this game but it appears that Zappe will start. While Thompson-Robinson may see a few snaps, fantasy managers should expect Zappe to see the majority. Zappe has yet to take the field as a Cleveland Brown after spending the first two seasons of his career with the New England Patriots. Last season, across ten games, Zappe threw for 1,272 yards with a 6:9 TD:INT ratio. Zappe should be viewed as low-end QB2 in Superflex formats given his unstable play in the past despite facing a favorable Baltimore Ravens defense.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Tuesday that he might play both quarterbacks Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Saturday against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens. Jameis Winston (shoulder) is likely to serve as the emergency third QB for the third straight week. The 25-year-old Thompson-Robinson struggled in his second straight start in the 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17, going 24-for-47 for 170 yards with an interception. He also carried the ball four times for 10 yards and lost a fumble. DTR is not the future at the position in Cleveland, so the Browns could get Zappe a little run as the team limps to the finish line in 2024. Obviously for fantasy purposes, nobody should have either Thompson-Robinson or Zappe in their starting lineups in Week 18.

The Cleveland Browns announced on Wednesday that they re-signed free-agent quarterback Bailey Zappe and waived wide receiver Jaelon Darden in a corresponding move. Zappe returns to the Browns after they just cut him on Monday. Now that he's back on the 53-man active roster, he will return to a QB3 role behind starter Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson with Deshaun Watson (Achilles) out for the season. The 25-year-old former fourth-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2022 out of Western Kentucky has played in 14 NFL games (eight starts), which all came with the Patriots the last two seasons, and he's completed 63.2% of his pass attempts for 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Zappe can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The Cleveland Browns placed quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) on Injured Reserve due to a torn Achilles, effectively ending his 2024 season. In a corresponding move, Bailey Zappe was officially signed to the active roster off of the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad. Watson could have played in his last career game with the Browns after suffering the serious injury. If so, his final numbers as Brown will read 3,365 yards passing, 19 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 19 games. Zappe, who spent the last two seasons with the New England Patriots, will likely back up Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.