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Cam Newton praises ex-Patriots teammate Jarrett Stidham’s smarts, but questions if he can handle ‘what-ifs’ in AFC title game
"There's something about the what-ifs that concerns me the most as the game approaches."
Jarrett Stidham’s football IQ left a lasting impression on Cam Newton during their season-plus together with the Patriots. He also believes Stidham is talented enough to possibly help the Broncos upset the Patriots in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, too.
However, Newton is concerned about how well his former teammate will handle the off-script moments in Sunday’s game.
“The issue was how does [Stidham’s football IQ] translate to the game,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday. “Then, you start to say, ‘Hey, how does Jarrett Stidham handle the what-ifs?’ What if his first option is not there? What if the pocket collapses? What if it’s not a perfect situation for him to be good or great? That’s my biggest question mark.
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“Does he have the skillset? Yes. Can he make all the throws? Yes. But there’s something about the what-ifs that concerns me the most as the game approaches.”
Sunday will mark the first game Stidham has started since the two games he started for the Broncos at the end of the 2023 season. He also hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular-season game since then, either.
But in the four games Stidham has started in his career, he’s put up some pretty respectable numbers. He threw for 584 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions to go with 84 rushing yards in two starts with the Raiders in 2022. In the two starts he made with the Broncos in 2023, Stidham threw for 496 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
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Stidham struggled against pressure, though, in those four starts, possibly lending credence to Newton’s idea that he might struggle if things go off-script. He’s completed 23 of 53 passes for 353 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions while getting sacked 14 times on 75 dropbacks against pressure in the games he appeared in between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, per Pro Football Focus.
Still, Newton vouched for Stidham’s football smarts. He pointed out that Stidham had such a strong understanding of the Patriots’ offense that many of their teammates went to the backup quarterback for help when they played together.
“During my time in New England, Jarrett Stidham was always the one, with him and Brian Hoyer, they were always prepared,” Newton said. “They were always understanding of who the Mike [linebacker] is, the verbalization of the playbook, and just rattling off plays, finishing plays before it’s even coming in. He was always the guy that guys would go to check their answers, ‘Hey, am I right, right here? What do I got right here?'”
Stidham backed up Newton in the 2020 season after losing the Patriots’ starting quarterback job to him in the preseason. But the team kept Stidham around for the 2021 season, when Newton was released just days before the start of the regular season.
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The work Stidham put in behind the scenes over his three seasons with the Patriots was enough to convince Josh McDaniels to trade for him when he became the Raiders’ head coach in 2022. Back with the Patriots as their offensive coordinator again, McDaniels had nothing but high praise for the quarterback he worked with over four seasons in New England and Las Vegas.
“Smart. Accurate. A great human being,” McDaniels said of Stidham on Thursday. “Worked hard. A great teammate. Just hasn’t had an opportunity based on situations and those kinds of things. I enjoyed working with him. I enjoyed my time with him. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go this week for sure.”
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