Jarrett Stidham has plenty of competition for positioning on the quarterback depth chart of the New England Patriots.
Sometimes, that competition can be a good thing.
The Patriots added another new quarterback to their roster over the offseason with the selection of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Stidham already was motivated to come into this very important offseason and improve his standing after a difficult and disappointing 2020 season. Does the increased competition at quarterback add anything to Stidham's motivation?
"Absolutely. It definitely fires me up," Stidham said. "Last year, bringing in Cam (Newton) before training camp, that fired me up to continue to get better and continue to grow as a player. I'm definitely fired up to be competing against Mac, (Brian Hoyer) and Cam. It's a great room and a lot of fun to be in there. I'm definitely fired up to compete against those guys everyday."
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Even with Jones in the fold and adding another layer of competition for the starting job, Stidham's approach remains the same.
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"My approach doesn't change at all. Every day when I come into the building my approach is to learn from the people around me -- obviously the coaches and the players who've been playing a long time in this league," Stidham explained. "Learn as much as possible and continue to grow.
"Drafting Mac, that really hasn't changed my approach. I can control what I can control, and that's how hard I work and how prepared I am. Those things haven't changed. My mindset has been the same."
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Stidham was a 2019 fourth-round draft pick of the Patriots. He barely played in Tom Brady's final season with the Patriots in 2019, and despite Newton's struggles throughout 2020, Stidham again failed to earn many in-game reps.
He played in just five games and completed 50 percent of his passes (22-for-44) for 270 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Stidham must make the most of his opportunities during minicamp this week and training camp next month if he wants any hope of winning the starting QB job for the Patriots.