Jarrett Stidham is not a better quarterback than Tom Brady. That much is clear.
But is the 23-year-old currently a better option under center for New England than the six-time Super Bowl champion? One former Patriot believes so.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Wednesday reported, citing conversations with people close to the Patriots, there’s belief in Foxboro that the offense could improve with Brady no longer in the picture. According to Reiss, the hope in New England is that the totality of the offense could level up if Stidham is solid, and his supporting cast performs better than it did in 2019.
Christian Fauria seems to be buying into this idea. The ex-tight end believes the Patriots right now are better off without Brady, given the direction the team is going in.
“They’re better off without him,” Fauria said Wednesday on “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria,” as transcribed by WEEI. “Can I tell you why? And it has nothing to do with Brady’s skillset. It’s not because he’s not good or he can’t throw it or he’s lost some speed on his fastball. It’s because where he was in his career, his age, what he wanted to achieve and what the Patriots were trying to achieve were completely different. So it was never going to work out. They were never going to see eye to eye.
“This offense is not going to be able to move forward with Brady as the quarterback, not because he sucks. Those throwaways were important. It’s because he wasn’t willing to adapt. There’s the difference. He wasn’t willing to let N’Keal Harry grow.”
Fauria’s line of thinking makes some sense, but another former Patriot doesn’t see it that way. Rob Ninkovich isn’t expecting New England’s offense to improve in 2020, as he sees Jarrett Stidham going through typical young-quarterback struggles.
