It seems Brian Hoyer’s work in Week 4 left a bad taste in Bill Belichick’s mouth. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham is the New England Patriots’ backup quarterback for Week 6 of the NFL season.
Hoyer was inactive for the Patriots’ game against the Broncos on Sunday, which meant Stdiham was the only backup active behind Newton. It marks his first time as Cam Newton’s backup. Stidham has leapfrogged Hoyer on the depth chart.
The decision made plenty of sense after Hoyer’s rough outing against the Kansas City Chiefs. New England probably previously favored him because of his experience, particularly in the Patriots system. But he looked like a rookie, making multiple decisions that cost the Patriots points. That led to his benching at the end of the third quarter. And that probably led to a lack of confidence in Hoyer. If he couldn’t bring a steadying presence to the team in Newton’s absence, he didn’t bring a tremendous amount of value.
Stidham entered the game and made a few errors of his own, with two interceptions. Even so, New England must have liked what they saw from Stidham in that game and in the practices that ensued to justify elevating him past Hoyer for this week.
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