Bailey Zappe being released makes it clear: The Patriots are now Mac Jones’s team, and they don’t want any controversy

Bill Belichick never answered with much substance this summer when asked several times if the Patriots were holding a competition at quarterback. Tuesday came the definitive answer: No. The Patriots have cemented their quarterback hierarchy, and they are letting it be known that Mac Jones is at the top, with no one to knock him off his perch.

Jones not only is the Patriots’ starting quarterback for 2023, he was the only one on their roster as of Tuesday evening. The Patriots waived veteran journeyman Trace McSorley on Monday, and in one of the more surprising moves across the NFL Tuesday, waived second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe. The Patriots also waived rookie Swiss Army knife Malik Cunningham, though a league source told the Globe they hope to re-sign him Wednesday to the practice squad if he makes it through waivers.

The Patriots obviously will be bringing in another arm over the next week, and Belichick did caution on Tuesday that players who are released this week may ultimately return. But you don’t release a player of Zappe’s pedigree and expose him to waivers unless you mean it. And his release makes it clear that the Patriots are all-in on Jones as he enters his third season, and don’t want any more controversy.

Zappe, a fourth-round pick last year, seemed to struggle learning Bill O’Brien’s offense. It was an ominous sign for Zappe last Friday in Nashville when he was lifted from the game late in the first half of the preseason finale, then reinserted for the second half. Zappe completed just 8 of 15 passes for 57 yards with four sacks and three fumbles on the night, and after one especially bad series got an earful from O’Brien on the sideline.

Still, Zappe’s release came as a surprise. He acquitted himself well in his four-game stint last year — winning both of his starts, going toe-to-toe with Aaron Rodgers in relief, and completing more than 70 percent of his passes overall. Zappe also was cheap, set to make the league minimum this season ($870,000).

But Zappe’s release could be about more than his performance. Zappe’s presence in New England made him a threat to Jones, who is trying to establish himself as the franchise quarterback (and whom the owners seem to be quite fond of). The Patriots learned the hard way last year the old adage, “When you have two quarterbacks, you have none.

” Jones got booed off the field during the loss to the Bears as fans chanted for Zappe, who immediately came into the game and threw a touchdown pass. Zappe’s performance last year not only split the fan base but also the locker room, Devin McCourty said this offseason. Jones and Zappe always said the right thing about pushing each other to make each other better, but it had to be extremely awkward to have two young, unproven quarterbacks battling each other day in and day out.

It’s why you usually see teams pair an older veteran quarterback with a younger starter. There needs to be an obvious hierarchy, and the Patriots didn’t have it last year with Jones and Zappe. Now, problem solved.

Jones is the guy, and there is no one left to challenge him. Even if Zappe clears waivers and returns, the Patriots have made it abundantly clear that they don’t view him anywhere near the same caliber as Jones. Whomever the Patriots bring in as Jones’s backup — the top veterans available include Carson Wentz, Trevor Siemian, Will Grier, John Wolford, Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel, and Jeff Driskel — won’t seriously challenge Jones for his job.

The newcomer will be too busy playing catch-up after missing the offseason. If Jones truly is the Patriots’ franchise quarterback — and he certainly has a lot to prove after his numbers dipped across the board in 2022 and his on-field outbursts were disruptive — then it was smart to get rid of Zappe. Jones needs breathing room to establish himself as the team’s leader.

But the Patriots also have a troubling history of giving up on young quarterbacks too soon. They traded Jacoby Brissett after one year, and he has become one of the best backups/spot starters in the NFL. They also dumped Jarrett Stidham after three seasons, who then threw for 365 yards in his first career start for the Raiders last year and now has Broncos coach Sean Payton calling him a future NFL starter.

Zappe has value; he’s more accomplished and cheaper than Trey Lance, who just went for a fourth-round pick. If Zappe doesn’t come back to the practice squad, then the Patriots just dumped him for nothing. If last year’s performance by Zappe was truly a mirage, and if he truly did clash with O’Brien and struggle to pick up the offense, then moving on makes sense.

It’s also smart business for the Patriots to have a definitive quarterback hierarchy. The Patriots better hope, though, that they didn’t just give away another talented young quarterback for nothing. .