Hoyer And Stidham Are Already In Full Competition Against Each Other.

In 2019 Jarrett Stidham beat out Brian Hoyer to become Tom Brady's backup. Hoyer was cut and sent packing to Indianapolis. And in 2020, even though many people think Belichick's incapable of doing such things, Stidham was demoted to third string to start the season for events concerning his injury last August. And Brian Hoyer was given the second string job until after week four.

Thus far it appears Hoyer and Stidham are battling it out for the number three spot on the roster. Stidham is younger with potential for development but Hoyer comes with a bag of experience and is one of the largest reasons the Patriots won superbowl 53.

During the first OTAs with the media, Mac Jones was supposed to be the best quarterback on the field but Hoyer was said to of made the best throw of that week with a deep pass to Agholor. The second OTAs with media Stidham was the best quarterback on the field and now at the third OTAs with media, it's was reportedly Hoyer. It's Cam's turn next but he's supposedly injured. 

Now before I continue, I have to get this off my chest. There are Cam Newton fans that are saying it's just practice, and that it doesn't matter. And to them I ask, weren't you complaining that Newton didn't have an offseason and that was partially why he had a bad season? Either these practices matter or it wasn't a reason for Newton's poor play last season. You can't have it both ways.

Last week Stidham went 13 of 14 with his only incompletion being a drop. On day three Stidham did hit a 45 yarder to wilkerson. And threaded the needle to Meyers for a completion. He also showed connection with Asiasi and Fumagalli. Stidham would go 11 of 14 and lead first team reps during 11 on 11s. While Stidham's not making a lot of big throws, he's reportedly showing good deception on play fakes. This was a second good showing from Stidham. Can he keep it going? 

On day three Hoyer turned it up a notch abandoning the safe throws with a couple of deep balls. Hoyer hit Asiasi on a 45 yarder and then hit Zuber on a 55 yarder. He also showed he can get the ball into tight spots with accuracy. Hoyer was also reportedly showing a good connection with Bourne, Olszewski, and Gaffney. Hoyer would go 11 of 13 on Thursday, a better showing than he had last week where he went 7 of 13. 

Andy Hart of WEEI wrote, Hoyer "clearly made the quickest reads and threw with the most accuracy and precision...", Hart was talking between all three quarterbacks in the day. 

Evan Lazar wrote about Hoyer at the third media OTAs, "If Jones or Stidham were making these throws, the hype train would be humming."

Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Palpit wrote about Hoyer after the third media practice, "Looking good in practice is nothing new for Hoyer. He did the same during last summer’s training camp and was particularly effective on deep attempts."

If there was a preseason in 2020, could Hoyer of won the starting job away from Cam? It's not out of the realm of possibility but then again, Hoyer could've played like he did versus the Chiefs.

Hart also wrote, "Stidham took the first reps in most drills and segments of practice and didn’t make any egregious mistakes..."

Evan Lazar wrote, "He is showing an improved confidence level compared to what we saw in camp the previous two seasons and tried energizing his teammates on a few occasions." 

Last week, Mike Reiss wrote about Stidham, "Jarrett Stidham sends reminder he's still a factor in Patriots' QB picture"

And Henry McKenna of Patriots Wire wrote last week about Stidham, "he showed a competence that was above Jones — and probably above Hoyer, too." 

That's really important because the Stidham needs to sell himself not only to the team but to the league. He missed out on valuable training time last year and now is on the verge of being gone from the league.

Over the last two practices Stidham is 24 of 28 and Hoyer is 18 of 26. Only the numbers of the 7 on 7 drills were released from the first media practice. Because they only threw like three passes each during that drill and the 11 on 11 numbers weren't included, I chose not to add them.

***Update: Stidham is 34-of-46 (73.9 percent) and Hoyer is 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) with an interception.***

If there was a real camp and preseason last August, I do not know if Cam beats out either quarterback. Cam's the better athlete but he's not the better passer. This offseason, Jones should be the best pure passer. We'll see how that goes.

While Cam misses out on practice due to injury, the Patriots get to give Stidham and Jones extra time and attention. Don't worry though, while Newton's missing practices he does benefit.

During the first practice with the bucket, 7 on 7, and 11 on 11 drills, Newton was said to look the same as last year. If what was said about him looking the same from all the drills is true, Cam is sheltered from the media and fan base while injured. Thus avoiding criticism if he doesn't show improvement.

***Update: Newton did return for minicamp. His numbers for the preseason are 16-of-27 (59.3 percent), worse than all the other quarterbacks***

While at the moment Stidham and Hoyer don't have a chance of dethroning Newton, they are giving the Patriots something to think about when it comes to who's behind Jones. If Belichick truly wants to sit and develop Jones for a season, this could actually be a battle for the number two spot on the depth chart in front of our eyes.

With Stidham getting the extra reps last week and starting off drills this week, it would appear as if they want him to beat out Hoyer for a roster spot.