Include Chris Simms among those who believe Jarrett Stidham is ready for the challenge that awaits.
All signs point to Stidham being under center for New England come Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season, which will mark the Patriots’ first without Tom Brady since 1999. While Stidham in many regards will be learning on the fly in the upcoming campaign, Simms doesn’t seem to believe the 2019 fourth-rounder will be overwhelmed.
Simms on Thursday was asked how he expects the AFC East signal-caller battle in 2020 to shake out in terms of overall success, and he slotted Stidham only behind the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen.
“…Buffalo is the leader in the clubhouse, to me, in the AFC East,” Simms said on NBC Sports. “So I mean, if you made me rank the AFC East quarterbacks this year, their success rate, I’m gonna go Josh Allen, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Darnold and then Tua (Tagovailoa) down in Miami. That’s the way I see it playing out.”
Simms continued: “…I know Jarrett Stidham’s new in New England, but again, it is New England. I think it’s a little bit better of a receiving corps there than people realize. They made a few nice adjustments this offseason. I think Stidham is poised and ready to go, so I’m gonna give New England and Stidham a little bit of the edge over Darnold and the Jets.”
Of course, not all pundits are high on Stidham’s potential. Colin Cowherd, for one, isn’t expecting much from the Auburn product, and he believes the Patriots ultimately will finish in the cellar of the division.
