By Sean Gannon

In a surprise turn of events, the New England Patriots cut ties with former NFL MVP Cam Newton and opted to start rookie first-round quarterback Mac Jones Week 1. This will be the first time in the Bill Belichick era that a rookie quarterback has started for the Patriots and comes as a big shock around the league. Many were expecting that Cam would be the starter for the foreseeable future while Jones had the chance to learn under him and then there would potential for Jones to see action on the field next season if not later on in the season. But with a solid preseason outing (36/52 69% 389yds 1TD, and the highest-ranked PFF grade for a rookie quarterback 92.2) the Patriots are set to tee off with Jones as their starter. While Jones’s numbers don’t pop off the stat sheet, rewatching his film with the Patriots you can see how comfortable he already is in the Josh McDaniels offense. It appears that Mac Jones has a full grasp of the offense and what is expected of him each play without overloading him. His movement around the pocket and quick strikes to his pass catchers have been incredibly fun to watch, including the pass against the Giants when he threw a pass to get his receiver open. Very veteran move on his part.  

There are two bonuses to having Jones as the starter. The first is that his throwing mechanics and ability to throw the ball downfield look cleaner than Newtons has. Granted Cam has had multiple surgeries on his throwing shoulder. The second is that last year the Patriots became a one-dimensional team, always running the ball with the runningbacks by committee or quarterback sneaks. Jones is not known for running meaning, every play from last year’s tape on the Patriots is pretty much useless and teams will need to go back to 2019 when Tom was still the quarterback to understand this offense to the best of their ability. While Jones is only a rookie and we have only seen a small sample size, it looks as though he is set to have a solid rookie season with the Patriots.

What does this mean for Cam Newton?

This is a tough question. Whenever a player and especially a quarterback gets cut this late in the preseason and so close to the start of the season, it’s hard to gauge if they will resign easily. The first problem players and teams run into is, how quickly can the player learn the playbook. It’s not easy to learn a new playbook and with the season starting anyone has to be ready at a moment’s notice to step in and play. The second is, there are not a lot of quarterback-needy teams at the moment for Cam to start for. He would likely have to look for a backup job somewhere if he wants to be on a team for the 2021 season. Dallas has already been linked to Cam thus far but it’s never a guarantee. Washington makes sense with his connection to head coach Ron Riveria, however, they have Fitzmagic and fan-favorite Heinicke on the roster. Houston could be a place for Cam to see some action, with Deshaun Watson’s off-field concerns he and Tyrod Taylor could both see plenty of time on the field. New York Giants could be a team in the market for a backup with inconsistency from Daniel Jones over the past two seasons, but Mike Glennon is a serviceable backup and the Giants offense is not built around quarterback runs. Overall there is a good chance Cam Newton doesn’t see the field or even suit up in 2021 for a team. But only time will tell.