One minute, Jarrett Stidham was backing up Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
The next, it looked like the 2019 fourth-round draft pick would become the New England Patriots' starting QB for the 2020 season, as Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
Then, New England signed both Brian Hoyer and Cam Newton. And Stidham, once on the cusp of what appeared to be an amazing opportunity, suddenly found himself inactive for the Patriots in Week 1.
So, what happened?
Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged Tuesday that injuries hurt Stidham's chances of beating out Hoyer for New England's No. 2 QB spot behind Newton. The 24-year-old isn't ready to make excuses, though, especially now that he could start Week 5 against the Denver Broncos if the game is played and Newton remains sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19.
"At the end of the day, it comes down to performance. I think this profession that we're in, it's all performance-based. You've got to be able to go out there on the field and do the things you need to do in order to move the chains and to help the team," Stidham said Wednesday on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" of being bumped down New England's depth chart before the season. "Again, I've been controlling what I can control. My preparation, my effort, my attitude and my performance have all been things that I can control. I'm not the one making decisions and so on and so forth, but I can control the things that I can control.
"That's kind of been my mindset. Each and every day, I'm working my butt off to make sure that I can get out there on the field and perform at a high level."
Stidham replaced Hoyer in the second half of Monday night's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. He showed flashes of his potential, but it's difficult to read too much into his performance.
It's unclear at this point whether New England will face Denver this Sunday -- Stephon Gilmore's positive COVID-19 test has cast uncertainty over the matchup at Gillette Stadium -- or who will be under center if the game goes on as planned.
For Stidham, it doesn't matter. He's still ready to put in the necessary work, knowing he must be prepared for anything.
"I prepare each and every week like I'm gonna be the guy, whether that's the case or not," Stidham said. "I would much rather be prepared than underprepared, so I've always looked at it as -- even going back to last year when I was behind Tom -- you're only a play away at any given point. Whether you're the starter or not the starter, things can happen.
"I've always prepared like I'm the guy. So my preparation, either way, will not change this week or next week or four weeks from now or 10 weeks from now, and that's just kinda how I am. I can just control what I can control and move forward and be prepared."
Stidham, selected 133rd overall out of Auburn, has yet to start at the NFL level. Perhaps this week will mark his first opportunity after an interesting journey so far.
