Who Should I Start? Bailey Zappe or Sam Howell

Friday, March 14, 1:08 PM

A day after adding quarterback Gardner Minshew II to the quarterback room, the Kansas City Chiefs re-signed QB Bailey Zappe to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday, a source told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Zappe began last season with the Kansas City Chiefs but eventually joined the Cleveland Browns and started the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens, going 16-for-31 for 170 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The 25-year-old former fourth-round pick (137th overall) by the New England Patriots in 2022 out of Western Kentucky will open the 2025 season as Kansas City's third-stringer behind Mahomes and Minshew. In his three years in the NFL, he has completed 62.1% of his 335 pass attempts for 2,223 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:11 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Howell was usually the second QB to rotate into team drills during offseason workouts behind J.J. McCarthy, which suggests that Howell is the front-runner for the No. 2 job. However, nothing he did this spring indicated that he will push McCarthy to start in 2025, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "He's kind of like J.J.," head coach Kevin O'Connell said, "where he's made some throws where you're like, 'Man, probably shouldn't have made that throw. But I now know on this play, I've got to be careful of this.' And it's all growth." Behind Howell is Brett Rypien and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer. The Vikings acquired Howell in a trade this offseason with Seattle. The former fifth-rounder by the Commanders has completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 23 picks in 20 games (18 starts) in his three NFL seasons.