Jarrett Stidham would be grateful for opportunity to start in finale

The second-year quarterback would be grateful for a starting opportunity.

Following the Patriots’ 38-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, the attention turned to the season finale against the New York Jets. With Cam Newton struggling on Monday, there have been growing calls for the Patriots to start Jarrett Stidham in an effort to assess whether he could contribute in 2021.

In the meantime, Stidham indicated that he would love the opportunity to start against the Jets, but that he is not going to focus much on it heading into practice this week.

“I think everybody in the game of football wants to be playing every single week. Yeah, I would absolutely love to have that opportunity, but again, that’s not in my control and I am not going to focus on it,” Stidham said. “That’s not going to change the way I prepare. I prepare like I’m the starter even going back to last year. That’s how I’ve always prepared each and every week. That’s not going to change my mindset and I am just going to keep grinding and get better next week.”

Stidham went 4-of-11 for 44 yards against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. With the Patriots looking to find stability for the quarterback position for the foreseeable future, starting Stidham could be beneficial for evaluation purposes.

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