The New England Patriots aren’t simply going to hand the starting quarterback job to Cam Newton nor Jarrett Stidham.
The Patriots offered a brief glimpse at the first unpadded training camp practice of the summer on Patriots.com. In a quarterback rollout drill, veteran passer Brian Hoyer took the first rep, while Stidham was second and Newton went third. Undrafted free agent Brian Lewerke took the fourth rep.
That shouldn’t come as a massive surprise. The Patriots are in the midst of a quarterback competition between Hoyer, Stidham and Newton to replace departed starter Tom Brady. Hoyer has the most experience in the Patriots’ offense, so he would go first. Stidham played on the Patriots last season, so he’d go second. Newton is the veteran, so he’ll take reps before Lewerke, a rookie.
Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, still should be considered the favorite for New England’s starting quarterback job, but the Patriots aren’t going to reveal that in a practice session when it’s still undecided.
The Patriots have just over a month until their first game of the season against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 13. The Patriots won’t play any preseason games before their 2020 season opener.
The Patriots will have two weeks of padded training camp practices starting Aug. 17 before they have to begin trimming their roster for the 2020 season.
