When Cam Newton was ruled out of this week’s game due to his positive coronavirus test, many were surprised to hear that Brian Hoyer would be getting the start against the Kansas City Chiefs and not Jarrett Stidham. However, it is too early to say that spells trouble for the second-year quarterback’s future with the New England Patriots.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media told WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria” show on Monday that Stidham missed 3-4 weeks with a hip injury he suffered during training camp. That resulted in the former Auburn star falling behind. According to Rapoport, the Patriots are not down on Stidham in any way.
Ian Rapoport via @OMFonWEEI on Jarrett Stidham: "He had that hip injury, which took 3-4 weeks to heal, and he lost a lot of reps and fell behind."
Adds he hasn't heard a negative thing from anyone in the organization relating to him, just suffered an injury at a bad time.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) October 5, 2020
Stidham and Newton were supposedly in a battle for the starting quarterback job at one point, but it would have been shocking if Stidham won. That said, his hip injury did come at a time when he was trying to establish his spot on the depth chart. He tried to play through it, but he ended up falling behind veteran Brian Hoyer.
There were reports not that long ago that the Patriots were extremely high on Stidham. Depending on what happens with Newton, Stidham could still be their quarterback of the future. Bill Belichick’s decision to start Hoyer over Stidham on Monday night does not necessarily change that.
