New England Patriots: Jarrett Stidham won’t start every game this season

Jarrett Stidham is next in line to be the starting QB of the New England Patriots, but here’s why he won’t start every game this season for the team.

Here are two bold predictions for the New England Patriots as we’re now just inches away from the NFL Draft: Jarrett Stidham will not start every game this season, and the Patriots will draft a higher-end quarterback by the third round of the draft.

For the first time in 20 years, the New England Patriots are preparing for their first season without their franchise leader, Tom Brady.

At 42 years old, the Patriots may have seen Brady’s departure coming sooner rather than later, so the team used a fourth round draft pick last year on quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who eventually won the backup job over veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Stidham proved he was worthy enough as a rookie, so the Patriots decided to trade Hoyer to the Indianapolis Colts and keep only two quarterbacks on the roster at the beginning of last season.

After backing up Brady during his rookie season, and with Brady now on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, all signs are indicating that Stidham is going to become the next starting quarterback of the New England Patriots.

With that being said, the Patriots assured Hoyer he would have a chance to compete for the starting job when they negotiated to bring him back to the team. Also, there is a very strong possibility that the Pats are going to draft a quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft.

It’s fair to say that Stidham is going to have some solid competition at the quarterback position.

It’s being speculated that if the Patriots do in fact draft another quarterback in this week’s draft, it is most likely going to be within the first three rounds — making this decision a rather prime selection. Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Jordan Love have all been rumored to be drafted by the Patriots.

If that is the case, I believe that any of those rookies could earn himself the chance to start at some point during the season. The only thing we do know for sure is that the Patriots are going to play the person that gives them the best chance of winning.

I say this because the Patriots are still in a position where they’re trying to establish what direction their team is going in and it starts with the quarterback position. They still aren’t sure of what they have right now with Stidham, and Hoyer has an unimpressive proven track record for himself, but Bill Belichick seems to like him.

With that being said, the rookie is going to have the chance to prove himself and (depending on who it is) possibly even earn himself the starting job.

Another way to look at this is that maybe Josh McDaniels, New England Patriots offensive coordinator, is intrigued by utilizing two quarterbacks in his offensive game plans. Similar to the way the New Orleans Saints effectively play both Drew Brees and Taysom Hill in the same game and sometimes even on the same play, the savvy play-caller that McDaniels is could design a lot of fun and trickery-type of formations and plays.

Starting young quarterbacks is something that has happened for the last 20 years in the NFL. The Patriots just haven’t seen it up close and personal yet due to the luxury of having Tom Brady for the last two decades.

We have seen it work well with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, who just won the Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes, and with the Baltimore Ravens, where Lamar Jackson won NFL MVP last season. Although it’s not the typical “Patriot Way” of running an offense, it is the way the league is moving in and sometimes you need to stay relevant with the times.

So, no. I don’t think that Stidham is going to start every game for the New England Patriots this season, but as of right now, he would be the player who is at the top of the list to do so.

Taking it one step further, there will be three different starters at the quarterback position in New England this season until the team decides who the best person is that can lead them to success: Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer, and whoever the incoming rookie is going to be.