New England Patriots rumors: Matt Stafford not the answer at QB

Mike Sando of The Athletic believes that the New England Patriots could acquire Detroit Lions QB Matt Stafford, but the veteran isn’t the answer for the team.

If one thing is clear for the New England Patriots it’s that they need a quarterback. Could Matt Stafford be their guy?

Cam Newton hasn’t had an awful season, but it hasn’t been anything spectacular. He is too inconsistent and is also nearing the end of his career.

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Newton will be 32 at the beginning of the 2021 season. Especially with him running the ball a decent amount, he only has a few seasons left in him.

Also, it’s clear that Jarrett Stidham is not the guy going forward. If he was capable of being a starter he would have started in 2020.

So New England needs to find their QB of the future. This will likely involve a lot of trial and error in the draft. Even if the Patriots select a quarterback in the upcoming draft he could have to wait a season before playing.

If the Patriots are able to sign Newton to a cheap deal he could be a quality bridge QB candidate but that is not known. Newton might go and chase one final payday (even though that seems rather unlikely). Another option for a veteran quarterback is Stafford.

Stafford has been a quality quarterback on a terrible team. Even with a lack of weapons, Stafford has still thrown for 2,876 yards and 18 touchdowns at the age of 32. With Stafford having a more consistent career he is an intriguing option, but the Patriots shouldn’t try and acquire him.

The Patriots need to start acquiring assets and being a contender doesn’t exactly line up with that vision. Stafford might be able to get the Patriots in the playoffs.

In reality, the best thing for the Patriots would be to get someone young and see what they can do. Even though New England doesn’t seem confident in Stidham, at least if he was the starting QB you would know for a fact that you would get a top draft pick.

It seems rather unlikely that the Patriots get Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. So maybe it’s time for New England to look towards the 2022 draft. Then maybe they could get a franchise changing quarterback.

So even though Stafford would make the Patriots a better team, New England should not try and acquire him this upcoming offseason.