Stidham completed 14 of 24 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's preseason opener, a 31-3 win over the Lions.
It's just one game, but Stidham took care of the ball, had some nice throws and displayed solid poise for a rookie fourth-rounder. The 23-year-old is obviously no threat to Tom Brady's starting job, but the early returns have been good and Stidham looks like a signal-caller worth grooming. Whether that occurs with him as the team's No. 3 signal-caller or as Tom Brady's direct backup in 2019 remains to be seen, though with that in mind, we'd be surprised if the team let veteran Brian Hoyer go.