Some news and notes on this Thursday:
1) There was some relatively big news this morning as it appears we finally know what the future holds for New England Patriots quarterback, Jarrett Stidham.
SI’s Albert Breer is reporting that Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick have agreed to a trade that will send Stidham to Las Vegas, with the two sides also reportedly agreeing to a swap of late-round selections.
Source: The Patriots are working on a trade to send QB Jarrett Stidham to the Raiders. The teams will flip late-round picks in the deal.
(Credit to @IAmJamesStewart for being on the rumor earlier.)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 12, 2022
The move ends what was an interesting run for the former 4th-round pick out of Auburn, with Stidham going from a potential starter in 2020 to becoming an afterthought following the team’s surprising addition of Cam Newton prior to that season.
Stidham’s potential role diminished even further after the team drafted Mac Jones with the #15 overall pick last offseason, with Jones seizing the starting job from Newton heading into the 2021 regular season.
That left Stidham with the door slamming shut on any chance he had at starting, with the addition of Bailey Zappe seemingly putting the writing on the wall in terms of Stidham’s future in New England.
He’ll now become a backup to Derek Carr, with Stidham joining Nick Mullens and Garrett Gilbert behind the Raiders’ starting QB.
2) Today is a big day in the NFL, as the league will announce the 2022 regular-season schedule later tonight, allowing fans to begin pondering how things might play out once the official dates and times become available.
While various leaks have come out, there’s one, in particular, that seems to hold some weight and appears to be a done deal.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, the New England Patriots will travel to Green Bay for a battle against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 4.
That game will reportedly take place at 4:25pm ET, likely setting up a potential battle on the national stage between two clubs in what could be a key contest for both during the first part of the season.
It’s been a while since the Patriots visited Green Bay, with their last trip to Lambeau Field coming during New England’s championship season in 2014.
The outcome didn’t quite turn out in their favor despite a good effort from Tom Brady, who finished 22-of-35 for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns. They fell to the Packers 26-21, but Brady and the Patriots went on to win three of their final four games before eventually going on to beat Seattle for their first Super Bowl championship in a decade.
This will be just New England’s third trip to Lambeau during Bill Belichick’s tenure. Their only other trip prior to the loss in 2014 was back in 2006, which saw them win in a rout 35-0.
3) Another leak that became available is from WPRI Sports Director Morey Hershgordon, who made everyone aware of who the Patriots will face following their trip to Wisconsin.
After battling Rodgers and the Packers, the club will reportedly return to Gillette Stadium to take on the Detriot Lions in Week 5, although Hershgordon didn’t list the start time for that one.
The last time the Patriots played Detroit was back in 2018 in what ended up being a frustrating 26-10 loss against then-head coach Matt Patricia’s club. It was the second straight loss for New England, who also lost another tough one the week before down in Jacksonville 31-20.
Following their loss in Detroit, New England went on a six- game winning streak and won eight of their next nine.
They finished that season beating Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl to win their sixth championship.
Most of the Patriots’ meetings against Detroit during Belichick’s tenure have been on the road. They’ve played them six times, with just two of those meetings (2006 and 2014) coming at Gillette Stadium.
4) Former Patriots running back Danny Woodhead has potentially moved on to his second career, with Woodhead now having success out on the golf course.
According to reports, Woodhead advanced in local qualifying for the U.S. Open on Wednesday afternoon, which sets him up with an opportunity for the Final Qualifying round.
Woodhead finished with an even par at the Omaha Country Club, which put him among the Top 5 spots and made him eligible to advance to the next round.
If he can achieve the same success in the next round, with the location and date not yet determined, he’ll have the opportunity to play in the U.S. Open, which will be held in Brookline beginning on June 16th.
Anyone who has seen the golf movie “Tin Cup” probably won’t be able to keep from smiling knowing that Woodhead has an opportunity to go from a relative unknown outside the Pro Golf community to potentially competing in one of the biggest tournaments in the sport.
Good luck to Woodhead, who was a popular player during his three seasons in New England from 2010-2012 as he quickly became a key offensive weapon for Brady and the offense. He departed to San Diego in free agency prior to the 2013 season.
5) Down in Miami, despite the addition of Tyreek Hill, it sounds like Tua Tagovailoa is already taking some heat before he even starts throwing any meaningful passes.
The quarterback has been working out with the new receiver at their facility, with the club posting a video of a pass from Tagovailoa to Hill which wasn’t exactly flattering.
The former Alabama quarterback didn’t throw a great ball and it forced the speedy receiver to have to slow down and turn around in order to catch it.
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1524193068391432193
This is a critical season for Tagovailoa, who endured quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding his future after the reported interest in Deshaun Watson last season.
But all that is now behind him. With a new coaching staff and plenty of talent around him, it’s probably safe to say that if he doesn’t emerge as the player they’re hoping he can be, he may be throwing wobbly passes elsewhere in 2023.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
