Former Patriots player Jack Jones cheers on Bailey Zappe vs. Steelers

Bailey Zappe’s first-half performance in the Patriots’ Thursday night battle against the Steelers shocked and surprised many in New England. But for one former teammate of his, it brought out some support.

Shortly after Zappe threw his third touchdown pass of the half, former Patriots cornerback Jack Jones rooted on his former teammate’s performance on social media.

“Zappe ????????????????????????,” Jones wrote in a social media post.

Jones’s social media post on Thursday actually marked the second straight week that he showed support for Zappe. Shortly after Zappe took the field for his first start of the season in the Patriots’ loss to the Chargers on Sunday, Jones posted, “Let’s go zappe ????” on social media.

Jones and Zappe joined the Patriots as draft classmates in 2022. In fact, they were both fourth-round picks by New England that spring, with Jones being selected 16 picks prior to the Patriots drafting Zappe.

Furthermore, Jones and Zappe had their first breakout moments in the NFL in the same game. In Week 4 against the Packers last season, Jones recorded a pick-six while Zappe helped the Patriots force overtime as he took his first NFL snaps. A week later, Zappe led the Patriots to a win in his first NFL start while Jones recorded his second career interception in the same game.

Jones and Zappe also faced some uncertainty with their NFL futures prior to the 2023 season, though for completely different reasons. Jones was arrested at Logan Airport for allegedly possessing two loaded firearms in his carry-ons in June before getting the charges dropped in September. Zappe, on the other hand, struggled during training camp and the preseason, leading him to get cut on roster cutdown day.

Zappe rejoined the Patriots on the practice squad and eventually made his way back to the active roster. He replaced Mac Jones on four separate occasions before becoming the starting quarterback in Week 13.

Jack Jones, meanwhile, missed the first six games of the season due to a hamstring injury. After he reportedly missed curfew ahead of the Patriots’ Week 9 matchup against the Commanders, Jones saw his playing time in the following two games diminish before being waived on Nov. 13. The Raiders claimed him a day later.