Report: Jarrett Stidham 'Not Ready Yet' To Be Patriots' Starting Quarterback
BOSTON (CBS) -- With Tom Brady departing New England, the door is wide open for Jarrett Stidham to walk right through it and seize the starting quarterback position in Foxboro. Is he ready?
According to one analyst, the answer is no.
ESPN's Todd McShay said on "Get Up" that based on conversations he's had with people inside the Patriots' organization, there is a lot of optimism for Stidham's future. There just might be some questions about him in the present.
"From everyone I talked to in the organization, they're excited about his development," McShay said of Stidham. "He has so much potential. He is gifted. He's been through a lot in his life. He's got some character and some grittiness and toughness to him. But he's not ready yet. I mean, that's the bottom line. He is not ready to lead the New England Patriots, in my opinion."
McShay said that the Patriots have to make at least one more choice when it comes to filling out the roster at QB.
"Now, Brian Hoyer's there and he's a really good backup. But they're going to have to make a decision on what to do in terms of, is it bringing in a veteran like Andy Dalton to kind of stem the tide between now and when Stidham is ready? Or is it drafting another quarterback that they think is going to bring competition and potentially outplay Stidham at that No. 1 quarterback position?" McShay said. "The one thing I know from talking to people inside the organization, it's all about patience and waiting to see how the market plays out and not jumping into something too early when they're not ready for it."
As for the draft -- McShay's area of expertise -- McShay said that Jacob Eason is the most talented of the second-tier QBs, but he wouldn't be a fit "mentally" with the Patriots. Instead, McShay can see the Patriots going for Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.
"I think Jake Fromm makes a lot of sense, but he doesn't have the physical tools that you would ideally look for. But if you're going to bring in Andy Dalton, I would rather have Jake Fromm," McShay said. "Because he's the same guy physically and he's younger and he understands the game at a high level. Of all the quarterbacks I've sat down and talked to in the last two years in college football, in the meeting room, just getting to know them, watching them, listening to what they're saying in response to one play to the next, Jake Fromm is the smartest, most mature quarterback that I have been around in the last two years. So Fromm would make a lot of sense, even though physically he doesn't have the tools that you're looking for, and he struggled in bad weather."
Fromm threw 78 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in his career at Georgia, while completing 63.3 percent of his passes and leading the Bulldogs to a 36-7 record and a national championship appearance in 2017.
