The New England Patriots have made quite a bit of movement in the backup quarterback department this offseason.
Bill Belichick and the Pats have reportedly worked out a trade to send former fourth-round draft pick Jarrett Stidham to the Las Vegas Raiders. The deal will reportedly yield a late-round pick swap, per NFL insider Albert Breer.
The NFL world took to Twitter to react to this news.
“Fresh start for ‘Stid the Kid,'” one fan wrote.
“Raiders backup. Someone who doesn’t need to learn the system, makes sense,” another added.
Stidham just finished his third season in New England. The Auburn product made eight game appearances in his his first two seasons, logging 270 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. He did not take the field in 2021.
Stidham joins a Raiders quarterback room consisting of Derek Carr, Nick Mullens and Garrett Gilbert. With his former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels at the helm, the 25-year-old QB will arrive in Las Vegas with a familiarity for the team’s offensive scheme.
With this trade, the Patriots clear some space in what was otherwise a crowded QB room.
Much to the surprise of many around the league, the New England franchise selected Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe with a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft. With that selection, he slotted behind incumbent starter Mac Jones and joined veteran backup Brian Hoyer.
Now, Zappe will compete with just Hoyer for the primary backup role behind Jones.