Just months before the 2020 NFL season, the Patriots had just two quarterbacks on the roster: Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.
But in late June of 2020, the Patriots inked Cam Newton to a one-year deal, and after the first three games, it looked like a successful signing. Newton had led the squad to a 2-1 record – but Newton and the Patriots finished with a 7-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.
Despite a dreadful season from Newton, Belichick resigned the veteran before drafting Mac Jones 15th overall. To add to the competition for Stidham, they brought back 14-year veteran Brian Hoyer just weeks later.
Entering his third year with New England, Stidham has a lot of competition on the roster with three other QB’s taking snaps. It’s unclear whether he’s the third or fourth string quarterback – but regardless, it’s going to be a battle for just a roster spot.
Going into year three, the former Auburn Tiger says he’s feeling much more comfortable with the Patriots’ offensive playbook.
“I think, like with anything in life, the more you do something over and over, the more you hear something over and over, the more comfortable you’re going to feel doing that,” Stidham said when asked if he’s feeling more comfortable with the Patriots’ playbook. “Going into year three, I definitely feel a lot more comfortable within the offense. There’s definitely things that I’m still learning and really trying to master – but I really feel a lot more comfortable out there which is good and I just want to keep learning every day.”
The 25-year old, in his career (eight games), has tossed for 270 yards while completing 50% of his passes (24-for-48). Just four of those passes came in 2019, as he entered three games but only threw for 14 yards while being 2-for-4. Through five games in 2020, Stidham tossed for 256 yards while completing 22 out of 44 pass attempts.
“With drafting Mac (Jones), that hasn’t really changed my approach,” said Stidham. “I can control what I can control – that’s how hard I work, how prepared I am – those things haven’t changed.”
Despite lots of competition, Jarrett Stidham has one goal in mind.
“My goal is to be the quarterback here, and to start football games for a really long time in this league,” Stidham later said. “The mindset of that has never changed, it never has changed, it never will change. But like I said, I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can to continue to improve and do what I need to do to get better and to help this team.”
(Image of Jarrett Stidham/Getty Images)