Now that the GOAT has moved on to the Bucs everyone is hyper-focused on how the Patriots will replace their signal-caller. Belichick always has a plan and I have a theory behind what they are going to do. They are stealing the playbook from the 2019 Cincinnati Bengals. In 2019 Dalton was pulled for less talent to take the field and continue to lose games. Finley was not up to the task and the Bengals continued to spiral. It was only once it was almost guaranteed that the Bengals would receive the overall #1 pick did Dalton return and finally win a game. Dalton is still a Bengal and the Pats are suggesting that they are going to roll with Jarrett Stidham.
What are the Pats going to do, I will tell you. Once the Bengals cut Andy Dalton to make cap space the Pats are going to sign him and tell Dalton that he will compete for the starting spot. The Patriots will not have to give up any draft picks in trade and now that the QB carousel is done the Pats are the post attractive job. Dalton will not win the starting job and with no WR cast around him even if he did win it he is no Tom Brady. They will ride with Stidham to “see what they have” and lose a lot of games. The goal of the 2020 Patriots is not to be competitive….wait for it….the goal is Trevor Lawrence from Clemson in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Just like the Bengals the Patriots are looking for a perennial franchise QB to restock the shelf. The Bengals will get that with Burrow and Trevor Lawrence has been talked about since his freshman year. He will go #1 overall next year without a doubt and Belichick must covet him. It is the perfect play for them all around. Pretend to try and win games with Dalton and fail because they will say he wasn’t actually that good and the Bengals told us that. Stidham is a shot in a billion to be a quality starter and they know that also. They did not pay top tier money for their most important position and can ride with Lawrence on a rookie deal and build around him like so many other teams have done who have rookie QB contracts (Mahomes, Watson, Jackson, etc.). This is chess not checkers….this is the Patriot way.