PATRIOTS JOURNAL: Stidham’s stock takes another tumble

FOXBORO — The 2020 season hasn’t been a good one for Jarrett Stidham.

The Patriots’ 2019 fourth-round pick looked like the potential replacement for Tom Brady when NFL free agency came and went. At that time, the only addition was veteran Brian Hoyer, who Stidham had beaten out for the backup job the summer before.

As the offseason went on, it seemed like the Patriots were ready to roll into training [...]

FOXBORO — The 2020 season hasn’t been a good one for Jarrett Stidham.

The Patriots’ 2019 fourth-round pick looked like the potential replacement for Tom Brady when NFL free agency came and went. At that time, the only addition was veteran Brian Hoyer, who Stidham had beaten out for the backup job the summer before.

As the offseason went on, it seemed like the Patriots were ready to roll into training camp with Stidham and Hoyer along with undrafted free agents Brian Lewerke and J’Mar Smith. As we all know, the Pats changed gears and signed Cam Newton at the beginning of July. Still, Stidham had a chance to compete against Newton and win the Patriots starting quarterback job.

But Stidham didn’t even win the Patriots backup quarterback job.

On Sunday, Stidham was inactive for the Patriots regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins. The Pats played with Newton starting and Hoyer the backup. That moved Stidham down to third string on the depth chart.

Stidham started off well this summer, completing 7-of-7 passes on the first day of training camp. But he threw seven interceptions in the next three practices. Stidham then suffered a hip injury and missed two days of practice. That was more than enough time for Newton to show he was the best quarterback in camp. It also was enough time for Hoyer to establish himself as the top backup.

Stidham is in only his second NFL season, but 2020 hasn’t been a great one for the quarterback. Just a year ago, the Pats released Hoyer on cut-down day in favor of Stidham after a great showing in training camp and the preseason. A lot has changed since.

Also inactive for the Patriots were linebackers Josh Uche and Cassh Maluia, tight end Dalton Keene and tackle Korey Cunningham.

Seeing Uche on the inactive list was the biggest surprise as the rookie linebacker looked like he would have a big role. Maluia (shoulder) and Keene (neck) were both limited last week in practice. With Keene out, the Patriots played with two tight ends — Devin Asiasi and Ryan Izzo.

Folk gets the call

The Patriots finally have a winner in their 2020 kicking competition.

On Saturday evening, the Patriots elevated veteran Nick Folk from their practice squad to the 53-man roster. Due to COVID-19, all teams can elevate two practice squad players to their game roster each weekend. The Pats placed Folk on their roster along with veteran defensive tackle Xavier Williams.

The kicking competition continued through most of the summer. When the time came to announce roster cuts on Sept 5, the Pats cut both Folk and rookie Justin Rohrwasser. Both were eventually signed to the practice squad.

Although it always seemed like Folk would emerge as the leader in the kicking clubhouse, it was an interesting twist that the Pats chose not to place him on the 53-man roster. Under NFL rules, Folk and Williams will both revert to the practice squad on Monday — unless signed to the 53-man roster. This season, NFL teams can only elevate a practice squad player to the game-day roster twice, so technically, the Pats could do the same thing next weekend before their game against Seattle.

Last season, Folk was a solid replacement for Stephen Gostkowski, who went down with a season-ending hip injury. He made 82.4% of his field goals (14-for-17) and 100% of his extra-point attempts (12-for-12).

This summer, Folk made 86% of his kicks in training camp. Rohrwasser made just 55% of his kicks. It was a tough start for the Patriots 2020 fifth-round pick. The Pats made Rohrwasser the first kicker drafted last April, but was slowed due to a hamstring injury on his left leg, according to a source.

Right now, drafting Rohrwasser looks like a miss, but the Pats could still be evaluating their kicking situation since they still haven’t placed a kicker on the 53-man roster.

Folk missed his only field goal attempt in Sunday’s 21-11 win over the Miami Dolphins, a a 45-yard attempt with six seconds left in the first half.

Folk finished the day making all three extra-point attempts, which are from 33 yards.

"As far as the kick today goes, I just didn’t hit it right," Folk explained about his miss. "With that kind of wind, it was just a little different down there. I just didn’t hit it super clean. The extra points, those aren’t gimmes anymore. I was happy with those and happy with the win."

Making a statement

When the Patriots took the field on Sunday, they’ll did so in the name of social justice.

In each end zone inside Gillette Stadium, the words "End Racism" are painted in capital letters. When players took the field, they did so wearing black T-shirts that also said "End Racism" on the back. Patriots coach Bill Belichick will also wear a patch on his Patriots visor to honor Fritz Pollard, who was the first Black coach in NFL history.

Pollard was a running back who played at Brown. He was the first Black player for the Bears and helped lead the team to the 1916 Rose Bowl. That year he also became the first African-American to be named to Walter Camp's All-American team. Pollard became the first African-American head coach in 1921 for the Akron Pros as a player-coach.

With tensions high in the United States, NFL players have aimed to use their platform to fight for social justice issues. The Miami Dolphins announced before the game that they would stay in the locker room for the national anthem.

Prior to kickoff, Patriots players, coaches and the Kraft family lined up in the end zone for a video presentation of the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The song, which is known as the Black national anthem, was sung by Alicia Keys and ran on the big screen.

The video ended with someone saying, "There are forces that want to take us back to another place. We don’t want to go back. We want to go forward."