Cleveland Browns sign quarterback Bailey Zappe off Chiefs’ practice squad

The Cleveland Browns will sign Bailey Zappe of the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, adding depth after losing quarterback Deshaun Watson to a season-ending ruptured Achilles injury.

The deal for Zappe, 25, comes less than 24 hours after the Browns announced that Watson will miss the remainder of the 2024 campaign.  Watson was hurt in the second quarter of the Browns’ 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Cleveland.

Zappe, the fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, signed with the Chiefs over the off-season after spending his first two seasons with the New England Patriots. He completed 63.2% of his throws for 2,053 yards, 11 scores and 12 interceptions through his first 14 NFL appearances, including eight starts. Last season, he appeared in a career-high 10 games last season, completing 59.9% of his throws for 1,272 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Zappe joins a Browns quarterbacks room that includes Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston. He could potentially serve as back up for Winston against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday as Thompson-Robinson, the Browns’ second-string quarterback on Sunday, sustained a finger injury in their Week 7 loss. Coach Kevin Stefanski said that the Browns were still determining Thompson-Robinson’s status this week.

The Browns (1-6) will host the Baltimore Ravens (5-2) in an AFC North divisional meeting at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday in Cleveland.

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