As Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ staff were deciding who would back up Drake Maye this past offseason, the group looked at free-agent quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Nearly 10 months later, Stidham — who ultimately re-signed with the Denver Broncos — will be under center Sunday against the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
“It was kind of ironic, just speaking with his agent. They’re like, ‘Well, if you don’t want your starter to get hurt, sign Jarrett.’ That was before yesterday or two days ago,”
Vrabel said.
Stidham will be thrust into action after Denver starter Bo Nix suffered an ankle fracture in the Broncos’ divisional-round victory last weekend.
Stidham played just four snaps for Denver this season and has not thrown a pass in game since Jan. 7, 2024. When he takes the field Sunday, it will mark 749 days since his last pass attempt — more than double the longest gap between attempts for a quarterback starting a playoff game since 1950.
Still, the Patriots are expecting the best from the 29-year old, who was originally drafted by New England back in 2019 before following Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.
“Just going back to when Josh had him and playing against that,” said Vrabel, “I think he sees things really well. I think he’s athletic enough to extend, like we talk about a lot of quarterbacks. Accuracy. I think the decision-making – he’s really decisive in the games that we went back and watched. This is even going back to when I was in Tennessee as well.”
“Sean [Payton], he gets his guys ready to go,” linebacker Christian Elliss added. “Honestly, whoever’s at the helm, they’re going to be ready to play and they’re going to be a challenge in themselves. Everyone’s in this league for a reason. From my experience and from watching them, Sean has been just a really good coach at getting them prepared and getting them in the right state of mind.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton is clearly a fan of his backup. In Payton’s first year in Denver, he signed Stidham away from Las Vegas on the first day of free agency. This past offseason, Stidham’s extension made him the highest-paid backup quarterback in the league at the time of signing.
“Stiddy’s ready, and we’ll be ready for the next challenge,” Payton said after announcing Nix’s injury. “I’ve said this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I have a [No.] 2 [quarterback] that’s capable of starting for a handful of — a number of teams. I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.”
