Patriots’ Coach Bill Belichick Weighs In On Whether QB Jarrett Stidham Will Be Week 1 Starter
The New England Patriots will enter the 2020 NFL season with Jarrett Stidham as a starting quarterback. That’s what most analysts believe. But, will Jarrett Stidham be a starter in Week 1 of the regular season? Patriots head coach Bill Belichick appeared on NFL Network Thursday night to discuss several topics, including Stidham’s role.
When asked about Stidham’s readiness to hit the field, the Patriots head coach had his thumbs up.
Belichick said that Stidham worked really hard last year. He was the Patriots’ backup quarterback the entire season. Belichick knows that Stidham is working hard in the offseason. The second-year quarterback made a lot of progress in terms of understanding the Patriots’ offense. He also understands opponent defenses. Belichick is convinced that Stidham will get out there and be ready to win games. He believes that the young quarterback will “be prepared, compete hard.”
The Patriots are entering a challenging offseason. They will play with a new roster, and Tom Brady is not here.
“That’s where we are. You never know what’s going to happen down the road,” Belichick 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.”
Will Jarrett Stidham start in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins?
When it comes to the schedule, coach Belichick said when he first sees it, the team will start preparing for the first opponents.
Belichick will have the players ready for the early part of the season. That’s a priority now.
The Miami Dolphins are first on the list. The Patriots will play against either Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback position. They will be prepared for either the veteran QB or Miami’s rookie first-round pick.
“Again, I think the main point of training camp for us, is to make sure we know what we’re doing, and we’re ready to go,” he said. “So, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time, assuming preseason goes somewhat like it has in the past, we’ll have time to evaluate the preseason games, and have an idea what players will be facing on our early opponents.”
This will be the most highly-anticipated season ever. Playing without Brady is new to every on the Patriots roster.