There’s only one Bill Belichick and he’ll deploy two quarterbacks if he wants to.
As New England’s training camp heats up, so does the franchise’s first competition for starting quarterback in over two decades. Asked about the possibility of playing both Cam Newton, a veteran looking to make a comeback after signing a one-year deal in July, and Jarrett Stidham, a 2019 draft pick the team is high on, Belichick said he’d consider using a two-quarterback system this season.
“It might,” Belichick said when asked whether such a setup could benefit the team, per NESN. “I always say I’ll do what I think’s best for the team, what gives us the best chance to win. So whatever that is, I would certainly consider that. If it’s run unbalanced line or double unbalanced line or 23 personnel — whatever it is. If it helps us win, then I would consider anything.”
Newton, Stidham and Brian Hoyer, who is beginning his third stint with the franchise, have reportedly split reps relatively equally through the first two padded practices of training camp. Belichick said he’s currently focused on giving each QB plenty of opportunity to hone in on the basics.
The winner of the QB battle will be tasked with succeeding Tom Brady, who helped deliver six Super Bowls to the organization over 20 years.
“Obviously, there’s some point where that’s going to happen,” Belichick said of tilting the rep distribution toward one signal-caller. “But right now, we want to try to give everybody and opportunity to get the basics, and we’re really doing that at all the positions. Everybody’s rotating through, and we’re trying to give everybody an opportunity to run the basic plays, get the basic fundamentals down.
“Yeah, of course at some point, we’ll have to not equalize the reps. That’s obvious. But we’re not there now.”
