Patriots: Jarrett Stidham battling leg injury and Pats will be ‘cautious’

Patriots QB Jarrett Stidham is reportedly battling “discomfort” from a leg injury.

The New England Patriots simply cannot catch a break right now. After watching an NFL-leading eight players out of the 2020 season due to concerns about playing amid the global pandemic, they couldn’t afford to have more members of the roster go down with injury at training camp.

That unfortunately has been anything but the case in the early stages.

Less than 24 hours after it was reported that wide receiver Julian Edelman left practice in frustration with an apparent knee injury, it’s been revealed that projected backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham has been battling a leg injury and isn’t expected to practice much moving forward.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Patriots will be cautious with their 2019 fourth-round pick, who took the field without pads on Friday.

According to those on the ground, though the limitations were not spotted early. Other beat writers called it a “hip issue” A little confusion with the messaging in New England?

Or the leaking to Ian Rapoport?

If there’s a silver lining to be had here, it’s that Stidham is only dealing with discomfort in his leg, so the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. However, any potential spell on the sidelines would likely derail any chance he had at toppling Cam Newton in the starting quarterback battle (even more so than his poor play in the days after his camp debut has).

This injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the 24-year-old gunslinger. The latest buzz out of Patriots camp indicates that he’s been struggling mightily during passing drills. Not only was he intercepted twice in a span of three throws, but he bounced a check-down pass after strangely deciding not to step into it.

While Newton started separating himself from the rest of the pack, Stidham performed considerably worse than Brian Hoyer, who finished 7-of-16 with an interception.

We’re obviously not making a case for the Auburn product to rush back before he’s fully recovered. Jeopardizing his long-term availability would a truly boneheaded decision.

However, it might be time for fans in New England (and Stidham apologists) to admit that this injury all but confirms that Newton will be under center come Week 1 of the regular season.