On Friday, it was reported that New England Patriots second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham had suffered a hip injury and would not be 100 percent healthy for several weeks.
This does not bode well for Stidham’s chances of being a Week 1 starter. Stidham, Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer are in the middle of a competition to start the Patriots’ Week 1. And while none of them were too impressive in the first week of refurbished practice, Jarrett Stidham was the worst of the three, particularly in the environmental department, as he threw seven interceptions during team drills according to those on the scene for the practitioners.
Newton was the projected starter to go to training camp, and Stidham’s weak start to camp and injury has kept the 2015 MVP at that No. 1 spot. Hoyer has been a serviceable option in the first week of Phase Two of training camp, but Newton’s athleticism and ability as a pitcher is heavier than Hoyer brings to the table, despite how many mistakes Hoyer makes during training camp.
If Stidham wants to keep himself in the race to be the starter 1 of the week, he will have to practice back in full capacity as soon as possible. After a rough start to training camp, Stidham must prove he can learn from his experiences over the past week and not make the same mistakes going forward. If he can do that, then he’s totally in the conversation to be the Starter of Week 1. However, if he continues to fight forward, whether it is due to inexperience or injury, Newton will in no time leave with the starting quarterback job.
Stidham – a fourth-round pick from 2019 – are already battling an uphill battle this summer in terms of trying to win the starting job. Now he has some more resistance to overcome with his hip injury.
If Stidham is able to hit back and keep himself in the running to be the Patriots’ starting quarterback, then that heckuva says a lot in terms of his ability to step up and overcome opposition. But if he does not, the Auburn product will have to look from the sidelines again when the regular season begins, and try to win the starting function in 2021.
