Patriots: Jarrett Stidham’s injury and struggles should end QB competition before it started

The Patriots supposed quarterback competition should be over.

It’s mind-boggling to think that some folks out there convinced themselves that the New England Patriots were holding a legitimate quarterback competition at training camp. In the least surprising news ever, the initial buzz indicated that Cam Newton has already started separating himself from the rest of the pack.

As if we needed any more clarity that the former MVP would be under center for New England come Week 1 of the 2020 season, running mate Jarrett Stidham went down with a leg injury at practice and was taken to the hospital for further testing.

Though the results came back negative, the Patriots revealed they are going to exercise caution with the second-year gunslinger, which paves the way for Newton to win the supposed battle with sheer ease.

Stidham is expected to return to the Patriots’ next practice on Sunday. However, if the 2019 fourth-round pick is limited in any capacity, there’s just no way he’ll be able to keep up with Newton, who’s looked incredibly sharp in the early going. Unfortunately for Stidham, it’s being reported that it will be several weeks before he’s back to full strength.

If that wasn’t enough to wrap up the quarterback battle, the 24-year-old signal caller’s glaring struggles at camp surely would have done it. Not only did he throw two interceptions in a three-pass span, but he came up short on a number of his attempts as well. For comparison, Newton finished 10-of-17 (58.8%) with zero turnovers.

We’re not saying that Stidham was destined to falter at camp or suffer an injury, but he was NEVER going to beat out Newton and the fact that so many pundits were convinced he would simply because the Patriots think highly of him is laughable.

The three-time Pro Bowler coming out on top doesn’t change that. It just confirms what we’ve been trying to tell you since he signed with New England almost two months ago.