At one point, Jarrett Stidham was viewed by some as the potential future for the Patriots at quarterback. However, following a strong rookie training camp, the 2019 fourth-round pick never developed into Tom Brady’s replacement. As it turns out, Stidham won’t turn into the next Patriots’ backup quarterback, either.
On Thursday, the Patriots traded Stidham and a future seventh-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for a future sixth-round selection, a person with knowledge of the deal told the USA TODAY Network. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official. The news was first reported by the NFL Network.
The writing was on the wall that Stidham’s days in New England were over this offseason. The Patriots drafted Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth round in the 2022 NFL Draft. Zappe joins Mac Jones, who the Patriots drafted in the first round last year, and veteran Brian Hoyer on the depth chart.
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For Stidham, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, this move places him with a familiar face in former Patriots offensive coordinator and new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels as well as a coaching staff full of former Patriots assistants. He heads to Las Vegas having thrown for 270 career passing yards to go with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Stidham was drafted with 133rd overall pick in 2019 and had an impressive training camp that year. As a rookie, he beat out Hoyer for the top backup spot behind Brady. That preseason, Stidham completed 67.8% of his passes and threw for 731 yards to go with four touchdowns, an interception and a 102.6 quarterback rating.
However, Stidham’s next two offseasons were marred by injury and disappointment.
After Brady signed with Tampa in 2020, Stidham failed to beat out Cam Newton for the starting quarterback job in Foxborough. He suffered a hip injury that summer and started the season as the No. 3 quarterback on the roster behind Newton and Hoyer.
Stidham appeared in five games for the Patriots, throwing for 256 yards to go with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Last season, Stidham started training camp on the physically unable to perform list due to offseason back surgery. He was activated on the 53-man roster on Nov. 9 but was never active for a game. Meanwhile, the Patriots clearly moved on by selecting two quarterbacks in the past two NFL drafts.
