FOXBOROUGH — The great Patriots quarterback competition of 2020 may be over after a week.
Barring something unseen, Cam Newton looks like your Week 1 starter. Don’t expect a coronation from Bill Belichick until the season is upon us, but this is now Newton’s gig to lose.
The former MVP always had the inside track — and progressed nicely during his first week in pads — but Jarrett Stidham’s hip injury could be a competition-ender. NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reports “it will be several weeks before he’s back to 100%.” Stidham needed to be exceptional to steal the starting job from Newton, and that will be far more difficult when he’s hindered, even if he tries to gut through it.
The second-year quarterback was quasi-sidelined on Friday.
Though he was present and threw in a few drills, Stidham was held out of 11-on-11 team periods. All the reps went to Newton and Brian Hoyer. To tweak an old football adage, you can’t become QB1 from the tub.
Stidham’s diagnosis makes sense given the session the he submitted on Thursday. The quarterback only completed two passes, threw two picks, and a number of incompletions were one-hopped to receivers. Stidham wasn’t stepping into his throws with authority; the hip was affecting his game. If it’s weeks before he can do that again, there isn’t much of a competition to be had with Newton — especially given the veteran’s seemingly-daily improvements.
Every time he takes the practice field, Newton looks more and more comfortable in his new offense. The arm strength is there, the knowledge is increasing, and the overall play is, too. There’s no reason to believe that trend won’t continue.
Hoyer is still hanging around, but this has really been a two-horse race between Newton and Stidham, and now the longtime Panther pulling away from the field.
Newton’s Friday morning practice offered more clues of that.
Though there was little to be gleaned from a competitive standpoint — virtually all the drills were half-speed — Newton’s whereabouts were telling. During a punt team drill, he headed to an adjacent field for additional work throwing to Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu. Earlier in camp, all four quarterbacks would join these side sessions.
On Friday, it was just Newton. Now it sure looks like he’s all alone at the front of the pack.
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