Patriots Rumors: Latest on Brian Hoyer's Impact on Jarrett Stidham, QB Situation

The New England Patriots are about to have three quarterbacks on their roster. And none of them are Tom Brady.

For the first time since before 2000, the Patriots are entering a season without Brady, who has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Over the last 20 seasons, he played 285 games for New England, and he had started all but four since the beginning of 2009.

Now, is it possible the Jarrett Stidham era is set to commence for the Pats?

On Sunday, New England agreed to a one-year deal with veteran Brian Hoyer, who will join Stidham and Cody Kessler as the quarterbacks on the Pats' roster, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. And it may have been a move that was made in order to help Stidham.

Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal tweeted that the addition of Hoyer is "a clear sign the Patriots are ready to hand the QB position over to Jarrett Stidham." The 34-year-old played for New England from 2009-11, then had a second stint with the team from 2017-18, so he's familiar with the organization. That could be beneficial for a young quarterback like Stidham, who was drafted by the Pats in the fourth round of the 2019 draft.

Hoyer, who played for the Colts last season, could serve as a mentor to Stidham, who is 23 and had only four pass attempts over three games in his rookie year.

Rapoport reported that the Patriots are probably not going to add any other quarterbacks through free agency. They also aren't likely to consider a trade for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic.

It is possible, however, that New England could select a quarterback at some point in the 2020 draft. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Pats are one of several teams who are "closely vetting" Florida International quarterback James Morgan.

However, Morgan isn't likely to be selected until the later rounds. So even if New England drafted him, it may still be going with Stidham as its starter in that scenario.

Among the people who believe Stidham is ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL is his former college coach, Auburn's Gus Malzahn. And that's because of Stidham's offensive approach, which he demonstrated during his time with the Tigers.

"He's obsessed," Malzahn said, according to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. "He's obsessed with being the best. When it came to studying film, he was always up in the complex watching. You couldn't chase him out of there. He was just trying to be the best. That's the way he went about everything."

Stidham excelled during his two seasons at Auburn. In 2017, he passed for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns. Then, in 2018, he had 2,794 yards and 18 touchdowns.

After learning under Brady last season, it will be fun to see how Stidham progresses once he gets an NFL opportunity. And that could come this year in New England.