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The New England Patriots are set at their quarterback position with some guy named Tom Brady. However, there may be a competition brewing behind Brady for the backup quarterback position.
This week, rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham has a chance to prove himself in his first preseason game. The Patriots will square off against the Detroit Lions on Thursday to kick off their preseason.
Earlier this offseason, the Patriots drafted Stidham with the 133rd overall pick in the fourth round of this year's draft. Stidham played at Auburn in college, which allowed him to face NFL-level talent in the SEC Conference.
In his last two seasons at Auburn (after transferring from Baylor), Stidham threw for 5,952 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. One of Stidham's struggles in college was handling the pressures from a defense.
So far in training camp, Stidham has impressed the Patriots coaching staff with his development under center. Although, making throws in practice and stepping into an exhibition game against an opposing team are two different things.
Currently, Stidham is listed as the fourth quarterback on the Patriots' first depth chart behind Danny Etling. Therefore, the Patriots will need to place Etling to the practice squad if Stidham hopes to be one of the backups to Brady.
When New England takes on Detroit and Matt Patricia, Brady will likely remain on the sideline as he doesn't need many reps to get prepared for the season. As a result, we should see plenty of Hoyer, Etling, and Stidham this preseason.
Beginning on Thursday, Stidham has an opportunity to gain some momentum to becoming the greatest quarterback of all time's backup.
