Patriots: Jarrett Stidham-Cam Newton battle seems closer than we thought after first practice
By Adam Weinrib
The Patriots QB competition seems closer than we thought between Jarrett Stidham and Cam Newton.
Oh. Baby. Do we have an unexpected Patriots QB battle, or DO WE HAVE AN UNEXPECTED PATRIOTS QB BATTLE?
When Cam Newton joined the fold this offseason on an incentive-laden contract, all of which were predicated on him starting the lion’s share of games, it seemed the Pats were preemptively putting a lid on their quarterback competition, giving Jarrett Stidham another free year of mentorship.
After all, why would you bring in a former (and rather recent!) MVP and NFC Champion if not to start him?
Well, think again.
All those Pats fans who crowed about Stidham having a leg up in the competition because of his familiarity with the system may have had a point. After Day 1 of padded practice, all the reps were relatively equal and the team’s hand was held close to the vest, but … Stidham still came away impressing all beat writers.
First padded Patriots practice is wrapped up. No real clarity on QB competition. Everyone, at one point, got the first rep in a rotation.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 17, 2020
I'd say Jarrett Stidham looked the best today, but it was a small sample size.
Small sample size, sure.
But without a preseason, all we really have to go off of is the eye test of the folks who were there, and those who cover the team unilaterally claiming Stidham (and Brian Hoyer!) appear ahead of the curve is worth noting.
Mike Reiss’ take was even more declarative on the matter.
Patriots practice concludes. Lots to digest. Specific to arguably the biggest storyline, the QBs, this is my takeaway: Anyone that watched this practice would not have been able to clearly identify QB1. Top 3 all getting equal reps. Experience in system shows for Stidham/Hoyer.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 17, 2020
Oh no. This is totally going to be a thing, isn’t it?
Jeff Howe split the numbers down the middle for us, presenting a more nuanced take.
Of course, everyone’s throwing to relatively-open Patriots receivers, but it’s clear that everybody looked pretty good, and that’s sort of the issue here.
Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer had a fairly equal share of reps during the training camp opener. Stidham was 14 of 15 with the lone incompletion on his last pass of the day deep to Harry. Newton was 10 of 11. Hoyer 11 of 15.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 17, 2020
If Newton doesn’t distinguish himself from Stidham significantly once his packages start to get practice reps, then New England is going to have a perception problem on their hands.
A large portion of the fan base was already very prepared to leave Tom Brady behind for Jarrett Stidham when the Newton variable got introduced to the equation. If every media member left Monday’s practice unilaterally declaring them even, with Stidham looking comfortable in the system, then there’s a reason that was a unified front.
They want this to be close, and this is close.
