Patriots' Devin McCourty Praises 'Good Guy' Jarrett Stidham After Tom Brady Exit

New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty had nothing but positive things to say about quarterback Jarrett Stidham after Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

McCourty called Stidham a "really good guy" and pointed to the experience he has working against a talented Patriots defense on the Double Coverage podcast (h/t Mike Reiss of ESPN.com):

"To me, the best thing for Stiddy was that he had to go against our defense every week. He didn't have it easy. I love his poise. I would be faking a blitz sometimes and we'd make eye contact, and he'd just start smiling and laughing.

"To me, there were weeks where he was just on point. And those were some of our best weeks as a defense, mainly because Stiddy ate us up in practice leading up to the game and I think put more pressure on us. So I really admire just how hard he works, and then I've got to know him off the field as well. He's a really good guy. Young guy, but very mature. He's married. I think the Stidhams are going to be in New England for a long time."

New England selected Stidham with a fourth-round pick in last year's draft. The team signed journeyman Brian Hoyer on Sunday, and Cody Kessler is still on the roster, but Stidham should have a chance to compete for the starting job.

He appeared in three games as a rookie and completed two of four passes for 14 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. However, he flashed his potential during two years at Auburn, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 5,952 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with seven rushing scores.

Brady, a six-time Super Bowl winner and three-time MVP, led the Patriots to the playoffs every season since 2003 (not counting 2008, when he suffered a season-ending injury in the first game).

Needless to say, the next starter will have gigantic shoes to fill.