Patriots' Bailey Zappe channels Bill Belichick when discussing status for Lions game

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick repeatedly and hilariously refused to offer any specifics on Sept. 28 about the reported high-ankle sprain that ultimately prevented starting quarterback Mac Jones from playing in what became a 27-24 overtime loss at the Green Bay Packers that dropped the Patriots to 1-3 on the season.  

Fourth-round draft pick Bailey Zappe may be just a rookie, but he's already learned well from the boss. 

Per Mike Reiss of ESPN, Zappe declined to confirm or deny on Thursday if he'll get the start for this coming Sunday's home game against the 1-3 Detroit Lions even though Jones' status is up in the air and QB2 Brian Hoyer is now on injured reserve due to the concussion he suffered this past weekend. 

"If that's what happens, that happens," Zappe said about potentially receiving his first NFL start. "That's a question for Coach Belichick. I'm not going to get into those details." 

Zappe replaced the injured Hoyer at Lambeau Field and completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He is on track to be ahead of Garrett Gilbert on the depth chart after the Patriots added Gilbert to their practice squad Wednesday. 

"Same way I approached the last four weeks, just taking it day-by-day continuing to get better every day," Zappe added during his comments, according to Kevin Tame Jr. of Fan Nation/Patriots Country. "I’m just going to practice every day trying to take every rep like a game rep. I’m going to take advantage of every rep that I get, no matter how many it is."