A familiar face will be on the Browns' sideline Sunday in Foxboro, as former Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe will back up Dillon Gabriel in Week 8 in place of the injured Shedeur Sanders.

Sanders was a late addition to the injury report Saturday with back tightness and is inactive for Sunday's clash in Foxboro. Zappe was elevated from the Cleveland practice squad and is active for the Browns on Sunday. 

Sanders had been backing up Gabriel since veteran Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7.

Bailey Zappe with the New England Patriots

Zappe spent his first two seasons in the NFL in New England, after Bill Belichick and the Patriots drafted him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Western Kentucky. He appeared in 14 games for the Patriots over two seasons, including eight starts.

Zappe started two games as a rookie for an injured Mac Jones during the 2022 season, and led the Patriots to a 2-0 record in those contests. His best game in a Patriots uniform came against Cleveland that year, when he threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-15 victory at FirstEnergy Stadium.

After Jones was benched during the 2023 season, Zappe started six games for the Patriots and led the team to a 2-4 record as he completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,272 yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions. 

Zappe was waived by the Patriots at the end of training camp in 2024, and spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs (on their practice squad) and Cleveland last season. He made one start for the Browns, when he threw for 170 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on the final weekend of the regular season. 

Patriots inactives for Week 8

Safety Kyle Dugger was the only player on New England's injury report for Week 8, and he's inactive for Sunday's game when the 5-2 Patriots take on the 2-5 Browns. 

Here's the full list of New England's inactives, which also includes receiver/return man Efton Chism:

Efton Chism, WR/KR (healthy scratch)
Kyle Dugger, S (knee)
Tommy DeVito, QB (Emergency 3rd QB)
Eric Gregory, DE (healthy scratch)
Caleb Murphy, LB (healthy scratch)
Caedan Wallace, OL (healthy scratch)
Keion White, DE (healthy scratch)