Drake Maye shares what he knows about new Broncos starting QB Jarrett Stidham

New England Patriots

“I wish him the best of luck and looking forward to seeing how he does. Hopefully we come out with a win.”

The quarterback standing between the Patriots and a trip to Super Bowl LX is a signal-caller who hasn’t attempted a pass in a game since 2023. 

New England’s final test in a wide-open AFC will come on Sunday in Denver, with the Patriots set to take on the Broncos and new starting QB Jarrett Stidham in the AFC championship game. 

Stidham will be pressed into service after Denver’s starting QB Bo Nix suffered a broken bone in his ankle during the final minutes of Saturday’s overtime victory over the Bills. 

It remains to be seen how much Denver’s offense can operate with Stidham at the helm instead of Nix, who orchestrated eight game-winning drives this season alone for the Broncos. 

But Patriots QB Drake Maye has some familiarity with Stidham, who started his NFL career in Foxborough after the Patriots drafted him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. 

Speaking on Monday during his weekly interview on “WEEI Afternoons,” Maye said Stidham reached out to him before the start of the 2025 season. 

“I know that Jarrett’s a great player. He texted me before the season, Jarrett did,” Maye said on WEEI. “It just shows what type of guy he is. He wished me the best of luck. So, I wish him the best of luck and looking forward to seeing how he does. Hopefully we come out with a win.”

Stidham could have joined New England for a second stint with the team before the 2025 season.

Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged that the team took a look at Stidham as a potential backup option for Maye before signing Joshua Dobbs. 

“I guess it was kind of ironic speaking with his agent,” Vrabel said. “Like, ‘Well, if you don’t want your starter to get hurt, sign Jarrett. That was before [Saturday].”

Stidham is 1-3 in four career NFL starts (two for Raiders, two for Broncos in 2023), completing 117 of 197 passes as a pro for 1,422 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Ironically, the Broncos were the only team this season that didn’t have their backup QB attempt a pass during regular season action.

Now, the ball will be in Stidham’s hands as the Broncos try to put an end to New England’s impressive turnaround season. 

New England failed to win a playoff game in Denver on three occasions during Tom Brady’s 20-year run with the Patriots. But Maye isn’t fretting over past results as the 2025 Patriots — who went 8-0 on the road during the regular season — look to take care of business on Sunday against the Broncos. 

“It’s a great place to play,” Maye said of WEEI about playing in Denver. “I know the fans are great and I know they’ve got a great team. They’ve got some great players. And I know the altitude is a little different for us and some of the skill players running around. 

“But I think the big thing is it’s a different team. It’s a new team —  the past is in the past. And I think we’re living in the present and not worried about really anything else. We’re worried about Sunday’s game and control what we can do as the team that we are this year: the 2025 Patriots.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.