Bill Belichick is playing poker, and the rest of us are playing 52 pick-up.
He made a wager that no one would claim quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham on waivers. No one did. Both are back on the practice squad. And Belichick can now stick with one quarterback on the active roster, while elevating one or the other of the backuops to serve as the game-day No. 2.
Belichick has done it before, carrying no kicker on the roster and elevating one of two from the practice squad to do the job.
By rule, Zappe and Cunningham can each be relegated three times before they must be added to the active roster. Belichick could extend the competition for No. 2 by six weeks, eventually deciding between one or the other as the permanent backup to starter Mac Jones.
Along the way, another opportunity could come along for the Patriots. Regardless, this approach gives Belichick maximum flexibility — and it shows he guessed right. No one claimed either quarterback, allowing Belichick to keep one quarterback on the active roster through the first three to six weeks of the regular season.