How One Patriots Trade Links Drake Maye, Jarrett Stidham

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, the Auburn rookie was widely regarded as the potential for Tom Brady at quarterback. He spent most of his rookie season on the bench, before a full offseason where the fanbase hyped themselves up thinking he would start the following year.

Instead, the Patriots signed Cam Newton to a one-year deal, relegating Stidham to the bench again.

He had brief flashes during his time as Newton's backup, and was kept around for the 2021 season. After dealing with an offseason back injury, he was placed on the PUP list before the year and was never higher than third on the quarterback depth chart (behind rookie Mac Jones and vet Brian Hoyer).

With Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving to take a head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders that offseason, it eventually led to...

May 13, 2022: Patriots Trade Stidham + 2023 7th Round Pick (231st Overall) To Las Vegas Raiders For 2023 6th Round Pick (184th Overall)

McDaniels was able to reunite with his former quarter in Las Vegas. They gave up a future sixth round pick to a Patriots team just coming off a postseason berth.

Stidham played in five games with the Raiders, two of those starts. He went 0-2 and threw for four touchdowns in the process. As the Patriots missed the postseason in 2022, Stidham's contract ran up in Las Vegas and he was facing free agency. He would later sign with the Denver Broncos.

Now the Patriots -- equipped with the Raiders' sixth round draft pick -- decided to move up in April's draft for what they hoped to be the kicker of their future.

April 29, 2023: Patriots Trade 120th, 184th Overall Picks To New York Jets, Draft Maryland K Chad Ryland At 112th Overall

In an in-division trade, the Patriots decided to move up to draft what many thought was the best kicker in the entire draft. Ryland, a strong and accurate kicker from Maryland, was taken to replace the veteran Nick Folk and grab control of the reigns.

It didn't go well at all. Ryland missed 10 total kicks in his lone season with New England, including two misses from within 40 yards. The big one that he couldn't convert on? A potential game-tying field goal against the New York Giants that would have sent a game between lowly teams into overtime.

He missed it, and the Giants improved to 4-8 on the year. The Patriots dropped their ninth game of the year as a result, putting them in the driver's seat for a better draft pick than the Giants.

So who did they take third overall the next season?

April 25, 2024: Patriots Draft North Carolina QB Drake Maye 3rd Overall

Maye was drafted by the Patriots the following year, and after a brief time as the backup quarterback, was given the starting job.

He hasn't lost it since, and has quickly turned the entire franchise around. In his first full season under center, Maye has become an MVP-worthy quarterback, setting NFL and Patriots records weekly and has his team just one win away from their first Super Bowl in seven seasons.

In his way?

January 17, 2026: Broncos' Bo Nix Fractures Ankle In Divisional Win, Stidham Named Starting QB

Stidham, the player once heralded the future of New England, is the driving storyline in the 2025 AFC championship. After Denver's starting quarterback went down late in the team's 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills, head coach Sean Payton announced that Stidham would be the starter moving forward.

So a lot has transpired since the 2019 draft, and the 2022 offseason when Stidham was dealt away. But it's all led to this, a sixth installment of a Patriots/Broncos postseason rivalry that was set in motion more than half a decade ago.