Making an appearance on the NFL Network schedule reveal show, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave his thoughts about their upcoming 2020-21 schedule. When asked about the Pats' quarterback situation, the 6-time Super Bowl-winning coach gave praise to his 2nd-year signal-caller Jarrett Stidham, and alluded to his potential Week 1 starter's readiness.
“Stid worked really hard last year,” Belichick told Rich Eisen. “He was our backup quarterback the entire season, and I know he’s working hard in the offseason. I know he’s made a lot of progress in terms of understanding our offense and understanding opponent defenses like all players do from Year 1 to Year 2. “I’m sure he will get out there and be ready to go, be prepared, compete hard, and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Belichick also brought up the notion that New England has the necessary depth for the quarterback position and is confident of the players that he has.
“That’s where we are. You never know what’s going to happen down the road,” he said. “But we feel like we have four good players there. We added Brian and J’Mar to go along with Hoyer and Stidham . . . we like working with all those guys. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Patriots and Belichick are entering unchartered waters this year as they are headed to their first season without their long time iconic quarterback Tom Brady under center, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent last March. The Patriots did not draft or sign a quarterback this offseason, despite having a slew of veteran and tested names available on the market. It's now looking more likely that the hole in the Patriots' quarterback position will be plugged by Stidham, the Patriots 4th round pick in 2019.
New England has the toughest schedule in the league this season. If the Patriots and Bill Belichick want to return to the playoffs and possibly win another AFC East crown, Jarett Stidham is going to have to massively step up, if he is indeed the heir apparent to Tom Brady.
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