FOXBORO — In a tumultuous 2023 season that began with him being cut and ended with a six-week tenure as a starter, Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe believes he’s earned the chance to start in the NFL.

Zappe was asked that question Monday morning during the Patriots’ end-of-season locker room cleanup. The second-year pro ended the season 2-4 as a starter after Sunday’s 17-3 loss to the Jets that saw Zappe throw two interceptions and complete just 12-of-30 passes for 88 yards in the snow.

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“I mean, yeah, of course,” Zappe answered. “I have the confidence in myself to know that I think I can go out there and lead a team and win games. Of course, I want to be here. I’ve always dreamt of playing in the NFL, and of course, I want to be a Patriot. So whatever is decided this offseason, I’ll be ready for training camp, and I’ll come to compete and do everything I can help this team win. And hopefully that’s the starter and hopefully we can win.”

Zappe said he would approach the offseason differently trying to keep his job as the Patriots’ starter. Overall, since being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he’s 4-4 as an NFL starter.

“I’m gonna look back, of course, we have meetings today. I’ll talk to the coaches, talk to everybody and understand, try to get a better idea of what exactly some of the things that I need to work on to get better at so before next season have those things fixed then we can hit the ground running,” Zappe said.

He knows the main thing is “eliminating turnovers.” Zappe completed 59.9% of his passes this season for 1,272 yards with six touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was also sacked 25 times for 191 yards and fumbled twice.

“Those are the things that kind of stand out for us,” Zappe said. “If you take those away, what happens these last six games? Who knows? So those are things that throughout this offseason, watching film, get with the coaches kind of get a better understanding of how to eliminate those and do a better job at that then, of course, we want to win a lot of games next year.”

The Patriots own the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They’re expected to add a quarterback through the draft or via a veteran option.