Stidham takes the reins as Patriots backup QB

FOXBORO — The future of the Patriots quarterback position is now squarely in the hands of Jarrett Stidham.

That might be a stretch since we know Tom Brady is playing under center in New England for as long as he wants or can do the job. When it comes to Brady’s replacement, however, Stidham is the guy — for now.

The fourth-round pick looked better than your average fourth-round pick this summer. That’s one reason the Patriots cut Brian Hoyer on Saturday, awarding Stidham the backup role. Nevertheless, the team also tried to re-sign Hoyer, again.

On Monday, The Athletic reported that the Patriots were trying to bring the 33-year-old quarterback back on a one-year deal. That didn’t happen because the Indianapolis Colts, desperate for quarterback help after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck, offered Hoyer a reported three-year contract for $12 million.

Hoyer now heads to Indy with $9 million in guaranteed money after nearly staying in New England where he would have earned $1.510 million and a $200,000 roster bonus. Although he’s happy to be in this position, Stidham said he owes a lot to Hoyer for helping him get here.

"I can't speak highly enough about Brian. He really helped me out a ton,” Stidham said. “Especially when I first got here and got going in OTAs and minicamp and all that kind of stuff, he was here every day for me and helping me in every way that he could. He's a true veteran and a true pro and I couldn't be more thankful for him."

Stidham looked solid right from the start of OTAs and minicamp. There were some tough moments — as is expected with all rookie quarterbacks — but Stidham had more good days than bad. Compared to Jimmy Garopplo and Jacoby Brissett, Stidham looked ahead of the curve compared to those two quarterback’s first NFL offseasons.

In 2014, Garoppolo struggled in practice, but really stood out in games. During that first preseason, Garoppolo completed 58.2 percent of his throws (46-for-79) for 618 yards, five touchdowns and one interception with a 99.0 quarterback rating.

This summer, Stidham looked good in both practice and games. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes (61-for-90) for 731 yards, four touchdowns and one interception for a 102.6 quarterback rating.

Brissett didn't have as many opportunities as Garoppolo or Stidham did, but he completed 67.9 percent of his passes (38-for-56) for 387 yards and one touchdown. Brissett had a strong end during his second training camp, but the Patriots traded him to Indianapolis for Phillip Dorsett. Now Hoyer will back up Brissett, forming a duo of former Patriots backups.

Stidham said he benefited by having Hoyer around this offseason. When Brady didn’t participate in OTAs, it was just Stidham and Hoyer at practice and in the quarterback meeting room.

"He has a really unique perspective,” Stidham said. “So I'd always just kind of ask him stuff whether it was on-the-field stuff or off-the-field stuff, just whatever I had questions, he was always there to answer whatever."

Brady enters this season in a contract year — his deal becomes void at the end of the league year. This gives the Patriots a little bit of uncertainty at the quarterback position. The rise of Stidham could ease their fears if the worse happens — Brady retires or decides to (gulp) sign and play somewhere else.

It’s unlikely we’ll see Stidham that much during this 2019 season (unless another worse-case scenario happens), but his development will continue to be a big story in Foxboro.

"It's obviously a huge opportunity for me, but the work’s not done,” Stidham said. “I’ve got to continue to come in here and work my butt off every day to make sure that I can continue to get better and do whatever I can to help this team out. … My job, obviously, as the backup quarterback, is to be ready. But I’ve also got to give the defense a great look, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to make sure I’m helping those guys out, as well.”