Bill Belichick Acknowledges Injury Hurt Jarrett Stidham’s Chances At No. 2 Role

What began as a three-man race for the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback position quickly became a head-to-head battle between Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer for the backup role after Cam Newton declared himself the top dog this summer.

Hoyer won out, and after his start Monday night in the Patriots’ 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the reasonable follow-up question is, “But, why?”

Stidham suffered an injury during training camp and saw his reps diminish. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick acknowledged Tuesday on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria” program that the ailment could have played a role in Stidham’s demotion from the No. 2 QB in 2019 to the No. 3 in 2020.

“Well, he’s healthy now, but I’m sure that didn’t help with the opportunity to get reps which were limited anyway, the opportunity to run the offense or play in the offense in limited opportunities in camp,” Belichick said. “But Jarrett works hard, and he’s a smart kid, and he’s got a good understanding of what we’re doing. He did all he could do. Sometimes that’s the way it goes.”

Belichick will need to decide between Hoyer and Stidham if Newton, who tested postive for COVID-19 on Friday, can’t play Week 5 against the Denver Broncos.

Both Hoyer and Stidham played and each had two turnovers in Monday’s loss to the Chiefs. One of Stidham’s two interceptions came off of a dropped pass by wide receiver Julian Edelman, however.