Cam Newton to the New England Patriots seems like such an obvious move. When healthy, the 2015 NFL MVP is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and the Patriots just lost Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after 20 years and six Super Bowls.
But after trading away former draft picks Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett amid constant talk of who’d succeed Brady, Bill Belichick seems to be backing 2019 fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham as the potential future face of the franchise.
“The short answer is they are intrigued enough with what they’ve seen from Jarrett Stidham that they want to keep investing in him,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss said on “Get Up” Thursday morning. “On Saturday night after the draft, Bill Belichick said Stidham improved a lot behind the scenes last year, and that they will see where that takes him.”
Reiss then outlined what Stidham has going for him over the 30-year-old Newton.
“Youth, health, he’s a known system fit, he’s a known culture fit,” Reiss said. “And when you talk what the Patriots generally value in quarterback play, they boil it down to two things: accuracy and decision-making, and Stidham has really rated favorably from a statistical standpoint over his career.”
The Patriots brought veteran Brian Hoyer in for a third stint with the team, and Reiss says the team is comfortable handing Hoyer the keys should Stidham struggle. They did not draft a QB this year but added undrafted free agents Brian Lewerke and J’Mar Smith.
Newton was released after nine years with the Carolina Panthers. He played in just two games last year because of a foot injury that required surgery. Andy Dalton joined Newton on the veteran QB free-agent market Thursday as the Bengals released him a week after drafting Joe Burrow No. 1 overall.