#Cam Newton vs. Jarrett Stidham: The up-and-down battle to replace Tom Brady

Could Jarrett Stidham lose the New England Patriots quarterback competition before Cam Newton wins it?

While it is widely expected that Newton will be named the Patriots’ starter for Week 1, training camp is supposed to feature an open competition between the former NFL MVP cast aside by the Carolina Panthers, the second-year pro Stidham and veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer. The three are splitting first-team reps.

Well, the first hiccup happened Tuesday when Stidham threw three interceptions in a span of five passes during practice, according to various reports on social media. NBCSports Boston’s Tom Curran reported a “small edge to Stidham” in terms of the percentage of first-up with the starting offense.

One interception was an underthrown deep pass to Damiere Byrd that rookie safety Kyle Dugger tracked down, while cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Michael Jackson undercut routes.

The injury-plagued Newton signed late in the offseason, but set up offseason workouts with his new teammates, which “means a lot to the guys,” receiver N’Keal Harry said.

Early reports out of New England on Stidham this summer were favorable, before the pads came on. In drills. The Patriots typically have gone Hoyer, Stidham and Newton in that order — based on seniority with the organization.

The Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels tracked Stidham at 8-for-11 with three interceptions, Hoyer at 9-for-11 and Newton at 9-for-12 during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods of practice. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe tracked Stidham at 14-of-15 during Monday’s practice.

In other words, these are the ebbs and flows of a quarterback competition. Some good days, some bad.

It’s just new to the Patriots, where Tom Brady was entrenched from the middle of the 2001 season until he left for Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.