BEREA, Ohio — After an Achilles rupture, which has sidelined Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson for the rest of the season, Cleveland is signing quarterback Bailey Zappe off the Chiefs practice squad, sources told News 5 reporter Camryn Justice.
Zappe was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut that year after injuries to Mac Jones and a name well-known in Cleveland, Brian Hoyer.
The first two games of Zappe's NFL career flashed with success, beating the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. He went back to being the backup in 2022 and, in 2023, bounced between the Patriots' practice squad and active roster.
Zappe was waived during roster cuts in August and signed to the Chiefs practice squad.
Throughout his career, Zappe has appeared in 14 games, completing 192 of his 304 pass attempts with 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Browns players were not happy with fans after they cheered for Watson when he fell to the ground with the non-contact injury that ended his season.
The move to sign Zappe provides some much-needed depth, but not only for Watson's season-ending Achilles injury.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who had been elevated to the backup quarterback ahead of Sunday's game against the Bengals, left the field with a finger injury.
Thompson-Robinson's X-ray came back clean, but the team was awaiting additional test results from an MRI and gathering opinions. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said they didn't expect the injury to impact Thompson-Robinson for the full season, though it could impact his availability this week.
Jameis Winston, who played Sunday as well, coming in after Thompson-Robinson's injury and the emergency third quarterback, could get the start this upcoming week against the Baltimore Ravens amid the injuries. The Browns have yet to make that decision.
But now they have three quarterbacks in the room in any case.