Auburn football: Patriots activate former AU quarterback Jarrett Stidham

The New England Patriots seem to have a thing for quarterbacks that played for Alabama and Auburn football. From Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Jarrett Stidham, the state of Alabama is well represented in Massachusetts.

Last weekend, Pats quarterback Mac Jones made quite the stir when he was sacked, fumbled the ball, and then grabbed at Carolina Panthers’ defensive end Brian Burns’ ankle. Though Jones and Coach Bill Belichick insisted that there was no intent to injure, several Panthers disagreed. This week, New England’s QB room is the talk of the town for a different reason.

Former Auburn football quarterback Jarrett Stidham was activated by the Patriots on Tuesday after spending the first nine weeks of the season on the PUP list after back surgery. Stidham rejoined practice on October 20, per AL.com, and will join quarterbacks Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer on the 53-man roster. Interior offensive lineman James Ferentz was waived to make room for Stidham.

Head coach Bill Belichick was relatively tight-lipped on activating Stidham, citing depth as the reason:

Since being drafted in 2019, Stidham has played in 8 NFL games and completed 24 of 48 career pass attempts for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was originally expected to compete with Brian Hoyer for the starting job in New England after Tom Brady left, but things changed once Belichick brought on Cam Newton. Stidham’s rookie contract runs through 2022.

The former Auburn Tiger played 27 games in his two-year career on the Plains. He completed 470 of 739 pass attempts for 5,952 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also racked up 154 rushing yards for seven touchdowns.

While Stidham is rejoining the team in New England, former Patriot Cam Newton is still without a team after being released in August.