Patriots' Jarrett Stidham on team picking Mac Jones: 'It definitely fires me up'
Stidham is fighting other quarterbacks for space on the depth chart in 2021
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jarrett Stidham was once considered to be the heir apparent for Tom Brady’s throne with the New England Patriots, but in recent years his future in the organization became muddied.
Stidham’s brief time in garbage play in 2019 yielded one interception and one sack. He was 2-for-4 for 14 yards in that time. In 2020, when Brady departed, Stidham was looking like he was going to begin the season as a starter until the team signed veteran Cam Newton.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In five appearances in 2020, Stidham had two touchdowns, 256 passing yards and three interceptions.
The Patriots added another wrinkle when they selected Mac Jones, the star quarterback from Alabama, in the first round potentially putting Stidham third on the quarterback depth chart.
In reaction to April’s selection, Stidham told reporters Monday it got the competitive juices in him flowing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PATRIOTS' NEWTON KNOWS HE HAS MUCH TO PROVE THIS SEASON
"It definitely fires me up. Last year, bringing in Cam before training camp, that fired me up to continue to get better and continue to grow as a player, so definitely fired up to be competing against Mac, [Brian Hoyer] and Cam. It’s a great room, so it’s a lot of fun to be in there, but, yeah, definitely fired up to compete against those guys every day," he said.
He added that his approach wasn’t changing and that he is focusing on what he can control.
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The Patriots’ quarterback room is definitely going to be more interesting. Jones has reportedly impressed New England’s coaches while Bill Belichick has said Newton is looking better this year than he did in 2020.