Jarrett Stidham given rare rookie praise from Bill Belichick

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn’t known for heaping praise on his own players – particularly rookies – but he made an exception for Jarrett Stidham.

On the same date of his 23rd birthday, Jarrett Stidham received his first taste of honest-to-goodness NFL game action. With Tom Brady looking on from the Patriots‘ bench, Stidham completed 14 of his 24 pass attempts for 179 yards, one touchdown, and a 95.7 final quarterback rating.

Not bad for New England’s third-stringer, a fourth-round draft pick last April who came out of Auburn.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, as well-known for his gruff, perfunctory responses with the media as he is for his brilliant coaching acumen on the sideline, was uncharacteristically forthcoming when asked about Stidham’s performance. Though he acknowledged it’s far too early to come to any definitive conclusions – after all, it was just an early-August preseason game against the lowly Detroit Lions – even Belichick couldn’t resist singing the birthday boy’s praises a bit.

Speaking to reporters on a Friday conference call, Belichick had the following to say about Stidham, courtesy of USA Today’s Devon Clements:

"“I think there were several plays that dawned all of the categories really. Quick throws where the read was clear and the receiver was open and then maybe a secondary read, and then there were a couple of times where he scrambled and extended the play. He ran a couple times and completed a pass to – I think it might have been the tight end, [Andrew] Beck or [Ryan] Izzo – but anyway, there was a little bit of everything there. The most important thing for the quarterback is not to turn the ball over, make good decisions, and throw accurately, so he did all of those at times.”"

The most glowing segment from that whole assessment may have been one of the most-understated: “there was a little bit of everything there.” That sounds like Belichick ‘coachspeak’ giving Stidham props on a well-rounded game.

As many former Patriots running backs can tell you, Belichick abhors turnovers probably above all other things in football. If a running back fumbles or a quarterback throws too many interceptions, that skill position player is destined for Belichick’s doghouse and a lengthy stay on the Patriots’ bench. It’s important that Stidham didn’t turn the ball over Thursday night against the Lions; if he continues to make smart, safe decisions with the pigskin in his hands, he could have a long and bright future in New England.

It’s still probably a stretch to assume Stidham will overtake Brian Hoyer as Brady’s true backup, but you never know. New England hasn’t kept three quarterbacks on their active roster since Brady’s suspension back in 2016, so it’s unclear if they’d be willing to burn that roster spot on an extra QB for the depth chart… especially if Stidham continues to show progress over the remainder of training camp, joint practices, and the preseason.

For now though, it’s an encouraging start to Stidham’s career as a professional football player. Is he Brady’s heir apparent? It’s still way too early to make that call. But at the very least, he looks worthy of being drafted where and when he was… and that’s already an accomplishment in itself, particularly under Bill Belichick.