Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe will have company in the quarterbacks room when the New England Patriots start their offseason program on Monday.

New England has signed quarterback Trace McSorley as an unrestricted free agent, the NFL team announced on Thursday.

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McSorley entered the NFL as a sixth-round choice from Penn State in the 2019 draft. He played in three games in his first two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2021, McSorley played in six games and made his first NFL regular-season start for the Arizona Cardinals. He completed 45-of-83 passes for 412 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions and ran for 61 yards on 15 carries last season.

McSorley has played 169 snaps in his NFL career, with 76 coming in his lone start – a 19-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 25.

Jones has been the Patriots’ starting quarterback since joining the team as the 15th player picked in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The former Alabama All-American started every game as a rookie, including a playoff contest, and played in the Pro Bowl. Last year, Jones missed three games with an ankle injury and New England missed the playoffs.

A fourth-round rookie, Zappe started twice for the Patriots in 2022. He came in when Jones’ backup, Brian Hoyer, sustained a concussion and started two games – both won by New England.

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While he was attending the NFL’s annual meeting last month, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked if Jones still had a firm hold on the quarterback job or would be competing with Zappe for the starting spot as New England prepared for the 2023 season.

“Everybody’ll get a chance to play,” Belichick said on March 27. “We’ll play the best players.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.