NFL Network Patriots insider Michael Giardi back in early May reported that while Patriots coaches planned to make things awfully tough for Jarrett Stidham, the starting quarterback job was the second-year pro’s to lose.
Well, there’s been a pretty significant change to New England’s signal-caller situation since then.
The Patriots on Wednesday officially added Cam Newton, who will join Stidham, Brian Hoyer and a pair of undrafted free agents in the team’s quarterback room. Position battles are more open in Foxboro than elsewhere around the league, but Giardi is having a tough time seeing Newton not winning the starting gig.
“I don’t think it is a competition,” Giardi said Thursday on “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria,” as transcribed by WEEI. “The only way it is a competition is if Cam falls flat on his face. In which case, if Cam falls flat on his face, whether it’s because he’s washed, or he just hasn’t recovered from the injury, then I don’t even think he’s going to be here. So, I think it is his job — his job to lose.
“… He is one of those guys who people just look at. He is going to own that room when he walks into it because of who he is, his personality, because of his resume, and I think that’s just a lot for Stidham to overcome.”
NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho is singing a tune similar to Giardi’s. The former linebacker believes it’s “asinine” to think Newton won’t win the Patriots’ starting quarterback job out of training camp.
