The New England Patriots' decision to cut Bailey Zappe on cutdown day last week surprised many, leading some to speculate why the second-year quarterback was cut by the team.

Of course, Zappe's play in the preseason wasn't great. But it was a shock considering how well he played in his four appearances as a rookie. However, that came under a different offensive coach and system. Now with Bill O'Brien at the helm, it could be easily be believed that the new offensive coordinator wanted a backup quarterback that fit his system more than Zappe.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since cutdown day, O'Brien separated himself from the involvement of the team's roster decisions, such as cutting Zappe. In addition, he also praised the second-year quarterback.

“Bailey's a much-improved player,” O'Brien told reporters. “I think every year is different when it comes to Bill’s decisions with [Patriots director of player personnel] Matt Groh, relative to what the 53-man roster can look like. Those are conversations that I’m not really a part of that. I know Bailey has improved, I’m really happy that he's back with us.”

A day after his release from the Patriots, Zappe found himself on the Patriots' practice squad. He reportedly turned down others teams' offers to join their practice squads after clearing waivers.

The Patriots' decision to bring him back on the practice squad at least indicates that they view him well in some regard. In the preseason, Zappe completed 30 of 51 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions, posting a 78.3 passer rating. What was possibly more concerning were the sacks he took, eating six sacks as he fumbled the ball three times in the Patriots' preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans.

Still, O'Brien sees some promise in Zappe.

“Bailey's a young player, as a lot of these guys are,” O'Brien said. “When you talk about a guy only going into his second year, there’s a lot of improvement that’s been made, and there’s a good future. And so, it’s really good we have Bailey back. We can continue to work with him, and he’s a good guy to work with. He works very hard. So we’re happy to have him back, and have him as a part of this football team.”

Even though O'Brien waxed poetic on Zappe on Tuesday, he also had some high remarks on Matt Corral, who was claimed off waivers by the team last week. Corral is currently slated as the backup quarterback because he's on the 53-man roster, unlike Zappe. Of course, that could always change between now and Sunday as New England could make Zappe one of the players it elevates from the practice squad.

But in the meantime, a lot of attention turns to Corral and whether or not he'll be ready in case something happens to Mac Jones. O'Brien seemed to indicate that the Patriots are slow playing things with the 2022 third-round pick.

“Matt has been here morning, noon and night,” O'Brien said. “And he’s doing a good job of learning. And we just need to keep progressing him. You can’t throw everything at him at once because that’s a lot of information.

“So, we try to do a good job of giving them the things that are important for him right now. And it’s a team effort, and he’s done a good job of just coming in here and trying to learn and soak it up.”

If the Patriots elevate Zappe from the practice squad, they could make him their backup quarterback for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, they can't make Corral the emergency quarterback in that scenario.