Rob Gronkowski nails it with take on Bailey Zappe, Patriots QB battle

Very rarely in the modern NFL are four quarterbacks competing for roster spots on the same, is it becomes increasingly difficult to give all of them the reps they need. The New England Patriots, however, are doing just that, as three different young quarterbacks are fighting for space.

The depth chart seems fairly ironclad despite all the back-and-forth. Jacoby Brissett will begin the season as the starter, while No. 3 pick Drake Maye will start off as the backup. Sixth-round pick Joe Milton and his bazooka arm appear to have snatched the QB3 job away from a Bill Belichick fourth-round pick in Bailey Zappe.

The writing is on the wall for Zappe, who likely won't find any playing time in New England. In an appearance on First Things First, former Patriots tight end and occasional NFL analyst Rob Gronkowski advised former teammate Jerod Mayo to rip off the Zappe Band-Aid already.

Gronkowski said that Zappe needs to be "freed" via either a trade or release. Not only is a player without much of a future in New England taking precious reps away from Maye and Milton, but keeping Zappe on the roster will make it impossible for him to latch on with a new team before the season starts and further his career.

This comes right after Zappe was booed at home for replacing Maye in the team's first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

Rob Gronkowski says Patriots need to release Bailey Zappe

Zappe has proven to be a fairly average NFL backup. After setting FBS records with a mind-boggling 5,967 yards and 62 touchdown passes in his final season at Western Kentucky, Zappe has completed 63% of his throws and tossed 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 14 NFL games (eight starts). Zappe is accurate, but lacks the arm talent needed to be an NFL starter.

The Patriots seem ready to go full steam ahead with Brissett as the starting quarterback and Maye as the backup until Mayo thinks he is ready to go. Despite Milton impressing in New England's first preseason game, he will assuredly head into the season as the third quarterback.

With how often quarterbacks can be injured and the willingness for highly-touted reclamation projects to bounce around the lead, Zappe could have a fairly robust market. After all, he has shown more in actual NFL games that matter tham most of the young quarterbacks pinballing around practice squads.

Zappe's struggles were by no means all his fault, but it also became clear he is not a franchise quarterback. He could be a solid backup for many teams, but not for the Patriots at this moment in time.