The dawn of a new era awaits in Foxboro.
For the first time since the 1999 NFL season, you won’t find Tom Brady on the Patriots’ roster. The star signal-caller now is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, with whom he signed in free agency after 20 seasons and six Super Bowl titles in New England.
It remains to be seen what the Patriots will receive from the quarterback position in their first post-Brady season and beyond. As such NFL writer Marc Sessler’s burning question for New England ahead of the 2020 campaign shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: Is it Jarrett Stidham or bust in New England?
From Sessler on NFL.com:
Let’s start with a post-draft quote from plugged-in scribe Mike Reiss of ESPN, who said: “Everyone I talk to around the Patriots, it really comes back to two words: Jarrett Stidham. They’re really intrigued to see what he can do.”
Reiss labeled Stidham as the “leading candidate” for Tom Brady’s old job while dismissing the idea of adding Cam Newton, saying: “The short answer (to why they aren’t interested in Cam) is that they are intrigued enough with what they’ve seen from Jarrett Stidham, that they want to keep investing in him.”
We can wishcast Newton and/or fill-in-the-blank to serve as Brady’s heir, but Bill Belichick took zero action in free agency to add a genuine challenger. He took zero action in the draft. From where we sit today — barring a disastrous preseason — Stidham is the crystal-clear favorite to start Week 1.
The Patriots’ view of Stidham might go beyond liking what they have in the 2019 fourth-rounder. In fact, Stidham reportedly is a big part of New England’s future plans, which could even include a spending spree to surround the Auburn product with a strong supporting cast.
So yeah, it sure seems like Stidham will every chance to cement himself as the Patriots’ next franchise QB.
