FOXBORO, Mass. — Jarrett Stidham spent his first NFL summer learning from veterans Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer. Now, he’s the one helping a new quarterback adjust to life as a New England Patriot.
The Patriots on Wednesday signed veteran QB Cody Kessler, adding him to a depth chat that had, for the first three weeks of the season, featured just 42-year-old Brady and Stidham, the 2019 fourth-round draft pick.
“It’s been fun,” Stidham said Friday of Kessler’s arrival. “Cody obviously has a lot of experience in the league, and he brings a unique perspective. So it’s been good to get to know him a little bit and do all the things that I can to help him out to start learning our offense and all that kind of stuff. But it’s been great. He’s a great dude and obviously a really good football player.”
Kessler has bounced around since entering the NFL as a third-round draft pick in 2016, starting eight games for a dreadful Cleveland Browns team as a rookie and four more with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in May but was released on cutdown day, then was out of the league for nearly a month before landing in New England this week.
Stidham wouldn’t reveal how Kessler’s signing has impacted his practice routine, but it’s safe to assume the rookie now is seeing fewer reps with a third QB in the mix. Stidham had been the only fully healthy signal-caller of late, with a calf injury limiting Brady in two practices last week and one this week.
“I don’t try to handle myself in a different way, I would say, but with a third guy, whatever I’m asked to do, that’s what I’m doing,” Stidham said. “Whatever (Kessler’s) asked to do, that’s what he’s doing. I’ll let him speak for himself on that kind of stuff, but whatever I’m asked to do, that’s what I do.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who said adding Kessler was more about “roster management” than limiting Brady’s workload in practice, spoke about the adjustment Stidham has had to make this season as a rookie backup.
“Being a rookie in the NFL is hard for every position, but yeah, there are a lot of demands on that one,” Belichick said Friday morning. “But it is what it is. That’s what you sign up for when you play quarterback. You take on a lot of responsibilities besides just playing your position. There’s play-calling, there’s leadership, there’s adjustments, there’s knowing what everyone’s doing, there’s playing situational football and so forth. That’s all part of the position.”
Now close to a month into his first season, Stidham said he’s beginning to feel comfortable in the weekly NFL routine while acknowledging the need for continued growth and improvement. That much was obvious from watching his regular-season pro debut last Sunday: After relieving Brady late in a blowout win over the New York Jets and completing two passes, Stidham threw a pick-six to safety Jamal Adams and promptly was sent back to the bench.
“I didn’t really know what to expect (from NFL life), just because it’s something that you don’t really know what you’re in until you’re in it,” the Auburn product said. “But it’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun. A lot of hard work, obviously, but being around these guys and this team, everybody here, they’re really good people, and they love football.
“I love football, so I feel like I’m fitting in with the guys, and it’s been good just to get to know the players and the coaches and the staff and just everybody. So it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we’re excited about it.”
It remains to be seen how long Stidham and Kessler will remain teammates. The latter could find himself on the chopping block next week when suspended tight end Ben Watson returns to the 53-man roster.
“He has some experience,” Belichick said of Kessler, who participated in all three practices this week. “He’s a young player. We’ll see how it goes.”
