Close to a dozen Patriots players made the trip to California
The list of attendees at Jarrett Stidham’s “Pats West” pass-catching summit is growing.
Quarterback Cam Newton and wide receivers N’Keal Harry, Nelson Agholor and Isaiah Zuber joined Stidham and a handful of other New England Patriots skill players for a throwing session Tuesday in Southern California, Twitter user @amirmehrtash15 relayed to Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal.
Monday’s workout, also organized by Stidham, featured receivers Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Kristian Wilkerson and tight ends Hunter Henry, Matt LaCosse and Devin Asiasi.
Agholor, Bourne and Henry are Patriots newcomers, coming aboard during last week’s tsunami of free agent signings. Newly signed tight end Jonnu Smith has not been present at Stidham’s workouts but said Tuesday he has plans to train with Patriots teammates this offseason.
Stidham is poised to compete with Newton (and potentially a 2021 draft pick or forthcoming free agent addition) in training camp this summer. The 2019 fourth-rounder was viewed as New England’s projected starter at this point last year but faces an uphill battle after seeing limited playing time as Newton’s backup in 2020.
All eight of Stidham’s NFL appearances to date have come in relief, with head coach Bill Belichick keeping him out of the starting lineup even while the Patriots’ passing attack sputtered with Newton at the controls. The 24-year-old completed 50 percent of his passes (22 of 44), averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and threw two touchdown passes with three interceptions in five outings last season.
Future signing Jake Dolegala rounds out the Patriots’ current quarterback depth chart. He spent most of last season on the practice squad.