Ben Watson Explains Why Jarrett Stidham Deserves Patriots Fans’ Confidence

The New England Patriots will start the new season without Tom Brady. The quarterback signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is in the Tampa Bay area now, and he will stay there for at least two years. The Patriots will begin the season without the future Hall of Famer on the starting position in September. This will happen for the first time in two decades. Jarrett Stidham is next on the Patriots list. Brian Hoyer is in the mix, too. Will the Patriots trust the second-year quarterback? Stidham was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

The Patriots may feel uneasy about the young quarterback. Will Stidham have the power to start the game in September? The Auburn product impressed his teammates last summer. He has a really good chance to become the top quarterback for the team.

Jarrett Stidham deserves a chance with the Patriots

Former Patriots tight end Ben Watson believes that Stidham deserves the trust of his fans.

“Stidham has all that there needs to be for somebody who’s going to be successful,” Watson said Tuesday on FS1’s “First Things First.” “He’s a student of the game. You hear that a lot, but what that really means is that when we’re in the meeting rooms, he’s paying attention. When they’re in the quarterback room, he’s paying attention.

“When he’s on the field, he’s taking instruction from the coaches. Stidham is able to disseminate information to the guys in the huddle. He’s able to encourage them and kind of go through the minor details about route-running, about reading coverages, all those things. He’s eager to learn and he has a certain humility about him, with confidence. He had a chance to learn under arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game. He soaked that in for a year. Patriots fans shouldn’t be confident that he wouldn’t be in that room if Coach (Bill) Belichick didn’t think he could help the team.”

Is Watson right about these comments? How will Belichick use Stidham on the field in September? It will be nice to watch the Patriots use a young quarterback as a replacement for Brady.