Patriots' Jarrett Stidham Says on IG He's Been Working out with Julian Edelman

New England Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham and wide receiver Julian Edelman have reportedly been working out together frequently ahead of the 2020 NFL season. 

ESPN's Mike Reiss reported Thursday the Pats offensive duo have been "seeing each other almost every day" in Massachusetts, and he provided an Instagram post from Stidham:

Stidham, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, is in line to take over the team's starting QB spot from Patriots legend Tom Brady, who left in free agency to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 23-year-old Auburn product will compete with Brian Hoyer in training camp and the preseason, but he possesses more upside than his veteran counterpart and should be the favorite to win the job.

He showed promise as a rookie during the 2019 preseason. He completed 67.8 percent of his 90 attempts for 731 yards with four touchdowns and one interception to post a 102.6 passer rating.

In January, Stidham discussed the benefit of sitting behind Brady for a year.

"It was priceless. It's going to be really cool one day when I can sit there and tell my children, or my grandkids one day, that I got to be in the same quarterback room and talking about coverages and different passing concepts with Tom," he told Reiss.

"He's a phenomenal teammate, a phenomenal person, obviously a phenomenal player. There was just so much that I got to learn from him. He was obviously very open to me about stuff that he's thought about the game of football, and stuff like that. It was great. I can't speak highly enough of that guy."

His relationship and on-field chemistry with Edelman will be crucial as the Patriots otherwise lack proven weapons in the passing game. The limited number of effective targets was a factor in Brady's drop in production during his final year in New England.

Stidham and the Pats are scheduled to open the preseason Aug. 13 against the Detroit Lions, giving fans a first look at the team's offense without Brady at the helm for the first time in two decades.