The New England Patriots‘ quarterback battle will be the talk of preseason with ups and downs for all four quarterbacks. Jarrett Stidham‘s tenure with the team has been marked by inconsistency, and that appears to still be the case.
The Athletic’s Jeff Howe talked about some of Stidham’s erratic performances at OTAs. Howe wrote:
Stidham had a strong day last week after Newton departed, and he was fine Thursday, though maybe not as decisive in the pocket as he had been during the media’s previous viewing session.
Stidham seemed to come on a bit in the first day of minicamp, but it seems to be a day-to-day situation with the Auburn product heading into his third season in the NFL. At this point in his career, many may have expected Stidham to claim the starter’s spot. Unfortunately, he is stuck in an indeterminate state somewhere between rookie Mac Jones and veteran Brian Hoyer, but definitely behind Cam Newton.
It should be noted, some are seeing Stidham in a different light.
Jarrett Stidham had the best throw of the practice when he launched one down the left sideline during a 7-on-7 period to Nelson Agholor in tight coverage. Agholor dropped it… then picked up the football and punted it to the adjacent field.
Stidham’s Completion Rates Have Been High, But His Processing is Still Slow
If you see a chart from a member of the media who has been on hand for the OTAs or mini-camps, you’ll see that Stidham’s completion rates have been high.
That said, Howe added another layer on his breakdown of the young quarterback’s struggles.
The completion numbers were in Stidham’s favor, but he had a handful of plays when he waited too long in the pocket and wouldn’t have gotten away with it in live action. That didn’t happen last week when he took the snap and ripped it a bit quicker.
Until we get into training camp and even the preseason, we won’t have all of the answers, but it would appear the early returns are hit and miss for Stidham.
Bill Belichick Didn’t Yield Much When Asked About Stidham
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Stidham’s progression during his June 10 press conference. Belichick didn’t let on to any discontent with the 24-year-old. Instead, he mentioned him in a positive light.
Belichick said:
Well, the three quarterbacks that were here last year are still here and we drafted Mac, so that is what it is. There’s competition at every position and really, I think, any good professional player or any good football player has basically the same mindset and that’s to go out and improve his individual performance and go out there and perform as well as he can, and you can’t control what anybody else does. You can control what you do and you can control your preparation and your attitude and your performance and that’s what you go out and do. That’s what every player does or should do and Jarrett’s done that. I’d say so has really, pretty much everybody else on the team. That’s all you can control, so you go out there and do it.
Take this with a grain of salt, as you should everything you read from and hear from anyone at this stage of the offseason.
Access is limited, and most are just provided a snapshot of what they’ve been able to see. What’s indisputable is Stidham’s need to turn up his performance if he’s going to win the starting job.
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Patriots Inconsistent Young QB Regresses at Practice