New England Patriots: 5 Burning questions for the 2020 season

1. Can Jarrett Stidham lead the charge?

There’s no doubting the biggest and more important question heading into the 2020 season for New England comes at the quarterback position and the future of that spot on offense.

All eyes will be on that position this year and beyond for the Patriots, who will have a new face taking over under center for the first time since 2000 following legendary quarterback Tom Brady deciding to leave the organization and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency this offseason.

Although there are currently two options at quarterback that lie within New England’s roster, that being second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, the early favorite leading into the year to land the starting role under center is Stidham.

Unless the Patriots ultimately decide to go out in free agency before the regular season begins to bring in another quarterback onto the depth chart to fight for the starting spot, Stidham could have a big opportunity to step up on offense to try and lead New England in 2020 and perhaps into the future.

Bill Belichick and company appear to be very high on the almost 24-year-old quarterback who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Auburn. Stidham, who was a backup during his rookie campaign last year behind Brady, appeared in a total of three games during the year while going 2-for-4 with 14 yards passing and one interception.

If Stidham ends up winning that competition over Hoyer or potentially others at quarterback this season, he will have the opportunity to showcase his talents and attempt to lead the charge of an offense that has seen a large amount of turnover during the offseason.

But the biggest question is if the young quarterback will be able to indeed lead the charge in the now Brady-less era in Foxborough.