New England Patriots star quarterback Cam Newton got himself yanked for the final 10 minutes of the Pats' Week 14 blowout loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. New England head coach Bill Belichick decided to bring in second-year passer Jarrett Stidham to take Newton's place, which according to the Pats shot-caller himself, does not really hold any long-term implications at this point.
When asked if Stidham is going to be New England's starting QB moving forward, Belichick expressed how he still remains completely confident in Newton:
“That's not where we are right now. We're not there now,” the Pats coach said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
Newton finished Thursday's loss with 9-of-16 completed passes for a 119-yard gain. The 31-year-old wasn't able to log a touchdown, and also had one interception on the evening. Newton hasn't exactly been playing at an elite level for the Patriots this season, but nevertheless, Belichick isn't prepared to hand over the reins of the offense to Stidham just yet.
According to the 68-year-old coach, his decision to replace Newton with Stidham was simply motivated by how the Pats wanted to give the latter more reps in:
“Wanted to give him the opportunity to play, so we did,” Belichick said.
It is also worth noting that the game was already beyond reach for the Pats when Stidham came in, so it's not as if Belichick called upon him in a crucial juncture during the game. At this point, Newton is still New England's starting quarterback until further notice.
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