Jarrett Stidham is a rather polarizing player.
Not necessarily because of anything he’s done wrong. But because some folks just don’t believe the Patriots should hand the keys to an inexperienced quarterback in wake of Tom Brady’s departure.
Jay Glazer was asked in his latest mailbag for The Athletic whether he thinks Stidham is the QB of the future in New England, and the NFL insider answered in the affirmative.
Here’s what Glazer wrote:
I do, yes. They are certainly giving every indication that they want him to be. I know a lot of teams liked him when he was coming into the draft. Every indication coming out of New England is how much they liked Stidham and how they were going to go with him. Whether they still bring in someone to compete with him still remains to be seen — there’s one major factor out there in Cam Newton. But they do like Stidham an awful lot. I think they are going to give him every shot to win this.
Stidham, a 2019 fourth-round draft pick who turns 24 in August, has virtually zero NFL experience after spending his rookie season as Brady’s backup. All signs point to the Auburn product leading New England’s offense in 2020, though, especially since the Patriots chose to not select a quarterback in this year’s NFL draft and so far have refrained from pursuing a high-profile veteran despite the likes of Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton hitting free agency this offseason.
Stidham’s primary competition for reps at this point is Brian Hoyer, a journeyman whom he already beat out on New England’s depth chart last season behind Brady.
