Veteran Brian Hoyer was called on to replace the injured Mac Jones as the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback for Sunday’s outing against the Green Bay Packers.
It took less than a quarter and just six passes before Hoyer had to exit the game with a head injury. Almost immediately, New England ruled Hoyer out with a concussion.
Hoyer was replaced under center by rookie fourth-round Bailey Zappe from Western Kentucky. It’s a pretty stunning development for a Patriots team that is on the verge of falling to 1-3 for the second consecutive season after they didn’t lose three of their first four games since all the way back in 2000, Bill Belichick’s first season as the team’shead coach.
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Brian Hoyer injury and the Bailey Zappe story
New England surprisingly exhausted a fourth-round pick on Zappe this past spring. His college career started at Houston Baptist before he transferred to Western Kentucky.
Last season saw Zappe break the FBS record for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62). Throughout his college career, Zappe threw a whopping 135 touchdowns.
It remains to be seen how he’ll hold up in the NFL. But being thrown out there against an elite-level Green Bay Packers defense on Sunday isn’t great.
Zappe started the game by completing 3-of-5 passes for nine yards. He’ll go the rest of the way with Brian Hoyer already ruled out.
As for next week against the Detroit Lions, it’s way too early to say one way or another whether either Hoyer or Mac Jones will be ready to go. Remember, Jones suffered a high-ankle sprain last week. Initially, it seemed like he would be out a while. However, the former first-round pick from Alabama pushed to play on Sunday before New England made the decision to sit him out.