New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasn’t said much about his quarterback situation. He has offered a simple stamp of approval of the four players they have at the position, and has expressed positivity about the progress about last year’s backup Jarrett Stidham.
And that’s about it.
It’s notable, of course, because the team is hosting a quarterback battle to see who is the quarterback to replace Tom Brady, a recently-minted Tampa Bay Buccaneer. While it’s a mystery as to which quarterback will win the job in 2020, Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury had some interesting insight.
“I know they’re very high on (Stidham) up there in New England,” Kingsbury told WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria” in a recent interview. ” … It’s going to be hard to replace the greatest of all time, but (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) and those guys up there do a phenomenal job of developing QBs and if they feel confident in him, I feel confident in what they have going on. I’m excited to watch him play.”
It has seemed evident for quite some time. The Patriots signed Brian Hoyer in free agency and added a pair of undrafted rookie free agents during the draft process. New England didn’t exactly make a major investment in the position, financially or with draft assets. That seemed to indicate they liked Stidham to win the job next year.
And it sounds like Kingsbury believes — or is hearing — the same thing. Why might Kingsbury have insight into New England’s operation? He was Brady’s backup in 2003. And when Kingsbury was the coach at Texas Tech, he recruited Stidham.
“He was committed to me for about a year, and so I’ve always had a high regard of him as a player and as a person,” Kingsbury said. “Tremendous thrower of the football. Really comes out clean. I remember watching him when he was 16 years old and the ball jumped out of his hand at that age. Very accurate.”
Kingsbury added: “He has a cool, calm confidence about himself. Doesn’t try too hard around the guys. They like that, they like being around him, they gravitate towards him. And that always struck me, just kind of how he carries himself.”
