Apparently, the writing really was on the wall when Jarrett Stidham, not Brian Hoyer, backed up Tom Brady in the New England Patriots’ third preseason game.
Despite a quality showing in two preseason games, the Patriots reportedly released Hoyer on Saturday during roster cuts.
The Patriots could have pulled the sentimental move by keeping Hoyer around one more year to finish out his contract. It’s the one that Brady probably would have found more favorable. But roster spots are valuable, and Stidham did more than enough this summer to prove he’s a capable backup as a fourth-round pick.
Stidham went 61-of-90, completing 67.8 percent of his passes for 731 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He threw for 8.1 yards per attempt and a 102.6 passer rating. He also rushed 17 times for 81 yards.
He was better than Jimmy Garoppolo when the 2014 second-round pick-turned-49ers starting quarterback was a rookie. The Patriots cut Ryan Mallett and made Garoppolo the backup to Brady in 2014. This is a similar move.
Stidham finished second among qualified quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ accuracy percentage metric this preseason. He was sixth in PFF’s deep accuracy rate metric. He wasn’t perfect. His lone interception came when he was hit while throwing, but he could have tossed a couple of turnover-worthy balls that were dropped by defenders.
But overall, Stidham showed high potential.
Brady is entering the last year of his contract, which means the quarterback position is a question mark in 2020, whether you want to hear it or not. Having Stidham play third fiddle behind Brady and Hoyer would have meant stunting the young quarterback’s growth. Stidham needs all of the reps he can get to reach his ceiling as fast as possible if that thing that no one wants to talk about actually happens.
While it’s still unlikely, there’s at least a possibility that Stidham could be the Patriots’ starter next season. Having him toil behind Hoyer would have been illogical with the look to the future.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Stidham now will be asked to be the Patriots’ scout-team quarterback. It’s not an easy task. Hoyer was great in that role over the last two seasons. But let’s not pretend it will be make-or-break for the Patriots. New England managed to win Super Bowl XLIX when Garoppolo, who was a year removed from playing in an FCS offense without a playbook, was leading the scout team while pretending to be Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
And no one wants to think about the possibility that Brady could get hurt in 2019 as a 42-year-old starting quarterback. But now, if it happened, Stidham would be asked to take over the top QB role. The rookie offers a higher ceiling and lower floor than Hoyer as a starter.
The Patriots now can keep an additional player who should be able to help the team in 2019 while a third quarterback likely would not. The Patriots are taking a slight risk in cutting Hoyer. But clearly, they believe it’s one that could pay off down the road.
