What has Bill Belichick done in the last 20 years to suggest that
Probably they are trying to put together their best possible team.
He's terrible or he was injured?
Clearly. Yet, Belichick preferred a year of “albatross” Brady compared to a green guy. Jimmy G had a year more of reps compared to Stidham when he started a game in AZ.
What if he's pretty good but only slightly better than Stidham and rather than have the kid go through a year of growing pains that pays off down the road they're playing a guy they only control for this year?
From purely a talent perspective, of course not. But for long term, that’s open for debate, especially if you reverse the names on the front side there. While I don’t think many here want or expect a full ‘tank’ there is something to be said against stopgaps. I don’t think Can is coming to hold a clipboard and I’d rather see where they are at, as I’m not as enamored as others with the rest of the roster. So for me, I’d prefer the latter there.
Me? I'd play the better player this year as long as they are in contention for the playoffs.
If he's pretty good and they're winning, it's probably worth it, and if he's pretty good and they're not a playoff team Stidham likely ends up getting not insignificant reps anyways. In a vacuum I think you've got a case, but there are so many other variables.
If they could have signed Brady for the league minimum as a stop gap I think they'd have done that
Stidham QB1 / Newton QB2 is better, but do we think that can actually happen? I'm sure Bill probably had the talk with Cam, telling him that there are no promises and that he'll need to compete for the starter role. But let's say it comes down to the wire and Belichick drops the news on him. Do we think he's going to be okay with holding the clip board?
A huge risk for sure. If he’s a good teammate and prepares hard, it could work—Gronk doesn’t have a ton of humility or silence to him.
Yes, I certainly think that the all-time passing yards leader is his most likely outcome.
Why would they release him? If they can trade Demaryius Thomas for something, they can certainly trade Cam for something if he impresses in training camp.
Why not? 32 isn't that old for a quarterback. Ryan Tannehill just signed a big deal in TEN, he's 31. I see some criticisms of that deal, but not because Tannehill is old.
If he's that close maybe they deal Newton and start Stidham anyway. But it doesn't bother me if they don't, either. Rodgers sat three whole years and it didn't seem to set him back any. Tony Romo sat three years. Philip Rivers sat two years.
It depends on the alternatives, I think. There weren't starting jobs out there, which is why he signed now for so little. If that's still the case, I don't see what choice he has. But if there's a major injury elsewhere and an opening appears, he may not be as amenable (and the Pats may be able to recoup some trade value; remember Teddy Bridgewater with the NYJ?).
Maybe Stidham isn't yet ready for prime time this year, but BB thinks he will be with another year of seasoning. In the meanwhile, he gets basically a free year out of Newton, who maybe BB thinks is MUCH better right now than Stidham is. And so maybe, as he rebuilds the entire roster and gives Stidham one more year of preparation, he can squeeze out another year that maybe leads to an AFCCG appearance (and with some luck, maybe more than that - after all, Newton DID lead his team to a SB appearance one year so it's not like it's an insane idea).
Well, I've always been assuming that something opens up eventually, even if that's Week 5. Teams usually promote from within, but it's not often that you have a Cam Newton available.
I think so. In the event that the season proceeds many players will go down with both with injuries and COVID cases. Having improved depth at QB position with minimal effect on salary cap is a big benefit particularly this season.
Opportunity cost, hypothetically, if Stidham is very good already and misses development time. Also, potentially opportunity cost on the other side, if he is bad and we don’t actually find out until he is the starter next season.
If Stidham is very good he'll likely win the job, on the flip side, I don't think Stidham has any impact on their QB decisions next year, if they think they can get a good NFL QB (whether Cam or someone else) or draft someone they think is a potential franchise guy, Stidham on almost no salary isn't standing in the way of that.
Maybe, but if Stidham is very good and Newton still beats him out I'll take that as a win.
I can see how you would think a move that potentially elevates the Patriots to a playoff team again is shortsighted given their long term needs.
He's not a bomber, that's for sure. The Panthers were bringing in the backup for Hail Marys a few years ago. I think it's less to do with his arm strength and more to do with his shoulder.
It’s true; he’s not that old.
