Stidham battles injury, adversity in Patriots quarterback battle

Kevin Flaherty of CBS Sports wrote what we all knew, that Stidham entered Camp the frontrunner but that due to his injury; Cam Newton surpassed him on the depth chart.

Stidham was intercepted seven times between the eighteenth and twentieth of August. Then it came out on that Thursday that Stidham had a lower body injury that occurred sometime Monday night due to over use from lack of stretching. Coaches believed that caused his accuracy issues. Stidham would see two days off basically before being limited in reps.

Flaherty admits Stidham is the more accurate passer saying, "68 is better than" the other two quarterbacks (62% & 60%). He also acknowledged that Stidham is back to the amount of reps he was getting before the injury.  "The second-year signal caller, who was New England's fourth-round draft pick in 2019, is now starting to get back in the flow."

With under two weeks left of camp, it's good and bad news. Newton should have a firm grip on the quarterbacks competition if you believe the stories being printed. Mike Giardi tweeted today, that things might not be as we've heard.

Stidham told reporters that he's just happy to be on the field and is taking things day by day. Which is the Patriots way.

Stidham went on to say, “My goal has always stayed the same. Whether that be here at the end of training camp kind of leading into the season, or whether it be throughout the season, whatever it may be, is really just to learn and get better. I’m only in my second year. There’s a ton of room for me to grow. A lot of room to improve and learn in a lot of different areas. That’s kind of my big thing. I just want to continue to learn from the guys in the quarterback room, whether it be Cam, or Hoy, or Jedd [Fisch], or Josh [McDaniels], or whoever it may be – just continue to learn from those guys and really try to help myself get better and really excel on the field every day.”

It almost sounds like Stidham may have accepted the fact that he is going to be the backup this season. While it's good that he can humble himself, during a competition; that should never be a thought in his mind. The good news is Stidham is healthy and has time to further his development in the Patriots system.