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Raiders Rumors: Jarrett Stidham, 7th-Round Pick Acquired in Trade with Patriots
May 12, 2022
The New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders reportedly agreed to a trade Thursday that will send quarterback Jarrett Stidham to Vegas.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the deal will see New England send Stidham and a seventh-round draft pick to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick.
Following a collegiate career at Baylor and Auburn, Stidham was selected by the Patriots with the No. 133 pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The writing was perhaps on the wall for Stidham during the 2022 draft when New England selected Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe with the 137th pick in the fourth round.
That put Stidham on the bubble, and rather than letting him compete, the Pats decided to move on.
All signs point toward second-year man Mac Jones and Zappe being strong bets to make the team in 2022 with veteran Brian Hoyer possibly figuring into the mix as well.
When the Patriots drafted Stidham, there was some thought that he would be the heir apparent to Tom Brady, and he even saw limited action in three games as Brady's backup during his rookie season.
After Brady left the Pats for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, there was a period where it looked like Stidham would be the starter in 2020. Instead, New England signed veteran Cam Newton in free agency and gave him the starting job.
Stidham played quite a bit in a backup capacity in 2020, going 22-of-44 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Newton struggled mightily in 2020 and the Patriots missed the playoffs, which prompted head coach Bill Belichick to select Jones with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Jones immediately won the starting job, leading to Newton's release. While Stidham was with the team last season, he didn't see any game action.
Now, Stidham will have a legitimate chance to be the primary backup behind Derek Carr in Las Vegas, as he will compete with Nick Mullens, Garrett Gilbert and undrafted rookie Chase Garbers for that role.
He may have a leg up because of the familiarity he will have in Vegas' system since new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator.
Stidham is still only 25 years old and may have some untapped potential McDaniels can unlock.