With less than a minute left in the Patriots’ preseason loss to the Commanders, Bailey Zappe hurried to the line and spiked the ball, stopping the clock at the Washington 41 to set up a long field goal try.

It was his only throw of the night in New England’s 20-10 preseason loss to Washington and probably his last as a Patriot. Zappe was among the players New England cut Tuesday to get to the NFL-mandated 53-man roster limit. While it’s possible Zappe will land on the Patriots’ practice squad, more than likely it marks the end of a unique era in New England football history.

The backup quarterback who sparked a full-blown quarterback controversy and hours of debate on sports radio is moving on.

At its height, Zappe Fever represented some underdog hope at a time when fans were still lamenting the loss of Tom Brady. In eight days in 2022, he went from unknown third-stringer to No. 1 quarterback. With Mac Jones already out, Zappe delivered a respectable effort in an almost-upset of the Packers at Lambeau Field after Brian Hoyer went down. He then led the Patriots to back-to-back wins. They were wins over bad teams, but wins nevertheless.

The most hopeful of fans remembered a Drew Bledsoe injury opening the door for Tom Brady. They squinted hard and convinced themselves a repeat was possible, sparking a fan debate over whether he and not Jones should be the No. 1 quarterback. In reality, it was more of a dollar-store local version of Linsanity. A bright flash in a much-scrutinized pan for a quarterback, whose heart and hype were bigger than his arm.

But the light burned out with everything else during the disastrous 2023 season.

Now the Patriots and their fans have moved on. They’ve pinned their hopes on Drake Maye, ending both their love affair with Zappe and probably his time in New England. He’s capable of being somebody’s backup in the right system and is clearly good enough to be on a practice squad, but with three quarterbacks ahead of him now in Foxborough, he’d be smart to choose one somewhere else.

The anti-climactic ending shouldn’t overshadow what really was a wildly successful football story with a highly unusual wrinkle. Ninety-nine percent of all football players would dream of having the cup-and-a-half of coffee Zappe did with the Patriots.

If not for COVID, Zappe probably would never have gotten an NFL opportunity. He spent the first four seasons of his college career at Houston Baptist (which is now Houston Christian), an FCS program that rarely produces NFL players, and certainly not quarterbacks. Had his eligibility run out there, his football career would have almost certainly been over.

But because of the disruption created by COVID, the NCAA gave everybody an extra season to play. Zappe transferred to Western Kentucky. WKU isn’t a powerhouse, but it is an FBS program. He went there and put up huge numbers that scouts couldn’t ignore. The Patriots made him a fourth-round pick.

He made $2.222 million in two seasons in Foxborough. He got to hear fans chant his name and even see some of them wear his replica jersey. It wasn’t the full dream come true, but it was better than most. Few people remember Rohan Davey, Kevin O’Connell, John Friesz or Hugh Millen.

Everybody will remember Bailey Zappe.

TUESDAY MOVES

The Patriots released 16 players, including Zappe, placed three on injured reserve, three on the PUP list and one on the non-football injury list to get down to 53 players.

The Patriots released S Joshuah Bledsoe, T Kellen Diesch, OL Liam Fornadel, LB Joe Giles-Harris, RB Kevin Harris, RB Terrell Jennings, LB Kobe Jones, WR Matt Landers, G Atonio Mafi, DE Jotham Russell, K Chad Ryland, S A.J. Thomas, CB Shaun Wade, WR David Wallis, TE Mitchell Wilcox and Zappe.

They kept WR Kendrick Bourne, LB Sione Takitaki and G Cole Strange on the PUP list, meaning those three players are eligible to return after four weeks.

The Patriots placed safety Marte Mapu on injured reserve (designated to return) and defensive tackle Christian Barmore (blood clots) on the non-football injury list (designated to return). They are also eligible to return after four weeks.

Finally, offensive tackle Calvin Anderson and defensive tackle Armon Watts were placed on injured reserve. They’ll need to be released with an injury waiver to be eligible to play this season.