In May, the New England Patriots shipped Jarrett Stidham and a seventh-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a sixth-rounder.
Stidham, who was drafted as the proposed successor to Tom Brady in the fourth round of the Patriots’ mostly ill-fated 2019 NFL draft, was reunited with the only offensive coordinator he’s known as a pro, Josh McDaniels.
Stidham doesn’t post a ton on social media, but when he does, it is usually about family. He recently took to Instagram to post an image with his infant daughter, Lennon, with the caption, “Year 4 has a whole new meaning.”
Stidham never got any real momentum with the Patriots. Because of injury and uninspired play, Stidham appeared in just eight games with New England. He attempted 48 passes, completing 24 of them for 270 yards, 2 TDs, and 4 interceptions. His career passer rating is just 46.4.
Stidham Has Landed in a Much Better Situation
Somehow, despite a low production level, Stidham has landed in a better situation than the one he was in with the Patriots, where he was behind young franchise QB Mac Jones and under veteran mentor Brian Hoyer.
After the Raiders hired McDaniels to be their head coach, Stidham’s fit in Sin City was apparent. Stidham will start as one of the backups to Derek Carr. According to ESPN, he is listed as the No. 2 guy ahead of Nick Mullens and Chase Garber. That means he’s one injury to Carr from being on the field.
Because of Jones’ strong rookie season and his age, he seems entrenched at the QB1 spot. The Patriots even drafted Bailey Zappe in the fourth round this year as a long-term backup option for Jones once Hoyer calls it a career. It was clear that there were no plans to give Stidham another serious look in New England.
Carr is considered by most a Top-10 QB in the NFL (that’s exactly where NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal had him ranked in February), so Stidham isn’t going to replace him unless there is an injury or some unforeseen dip in play. Carr has been very durable. He hasn’t missed a game in four years and has only been out of two contests his entire career.
However, in the NFL, injuries can happen to anyone. This is the best chance Stidham will have had to earn playing time since he was beaten out by Cam Newton ahead of the 2020 season in New England.
Patriots Notes & Quotes
- Jason McCourty Has a New Job
Days after his retirement, former New England Patriots Super Bowl winner Jason McCourty has a new job. He is joining the Good Morning Football cast beginning July 25. Expect to hear some potentially interesting Patriots commentary.
- Dont’a Hightower Learns Something About an Alcohol Beverage
Patriots Nation is waiting to find out if Dont’a Hightower’s playing days are over. The future member of the Patriots Hall of Fame seems to be taking this time as a free agent in stride. He took to Twitter on Thursday with an epiphany about the drink “MD 20/20” that he picked up from the timeline of comedian Martin Lawrence.
Hightower shared his revelation with former teammate Patrick Chung.
Chung isn’t buying it.
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Jarrett Stidham Reveals His New Motivation in First Year With Raiders