Can the New England Patriots' Plan B at quarterback become their next superstar?
Jarrett Stidham is the X factor in New England as Tom Brady's free agency looms; if Brady signs elsewhere, the Patriots must decide whether to roll with Stidham as their starting QB or acquire another signal-caller via trade, free agency or the NFL Draft.
Stidham's throwing coach would strongly recommend Bill Belichick do the former.
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"To be clear, I think he is a star, and he is going to be a big-time franchise quarterback," Jordan Palmer told The Athletic's Jeff Howe of Stidham. "I have felt that way for a couple years now. I’m totally fine saying that. I don’t care that he went fourth round (of the 2019 draft). I think he is legitimate.
"He is going to be the leader of New England for a long time, whenever that starts. Go ahead and jump on that bandwagon."
That's high praise coming from Palmer, the brother of former NFL QB Carson Palmer who currently works with Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow and recently coached up Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, Daniel Jones and Jared Goff.
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Stidham has been working out in Southern California this offseason at Palmer's QB Summit, where the 23-year-old has displayed legitimate arm talent, per Palmer.
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"He can throw it as good as anybody in the NFL," Palmer told Howe. " ... I’ve got five, six, seven of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, and he is right there at the top."
Stidham's Patriots teammates can attest to his rocket arm, which he showed off in practice last season as a rookie.
Stidham put up decent numbers last preseason -- 67.8 completion percentage, 731 passing yards, four touchdown passes and one interception over four games -- but didn't exactly blow doors down. And that's after six QBs were taken ahead of him in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Still, Palmer sees potential in the Auburn product to fill Brady's massive shoes as New England's next franchise quarterback. The question is, do the Patriots see that same potential, and are they high enough on Stidham to let the greatest player of all time walk in free agency?
