Steven Senne/Associated Press
Surprisingly, the New England Patriots will open the 2021 regular-season with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback after having reportedly released Cam Newton.
Jim McBride from the Boston Globe reported that Newton was released Tuesday ahead of the 4 pm. ET deadline for teams and players to reduce their rosters to 53 players.
There was a lot of speculation during training camp and preseason as to who New England's starting quarterback would actually be.
Belichick stated to reporters in the first week that Newton was ready to go, but that he would continue to assess things.
He said, "We'll look at the entire situation." "I don’t believe you should evaluate players at any position based on one or two plays or even a single day. That's why consistency is so important. Production is also important. I hope that these things will go well, but it's going to be hard.
Newton said Aug. 16, despite Belichick's remarks, that Newton had not told either quarterback anything by the Patriots coach.
"No. He hasn't. He said, "It is what it IS." "Every day, I come out here with the expectation to just get better. That's all I can do. That's why I have control over it.
Both Jones and Newton performed well in New England’s second preseason match against the Philadelphia Eagles. Newton, who was the first to play, was 8-of-9 for just 103 yards with one touchdown. Jones was 13-of-19 and gained 146 yards as relief.
Jones did have the opportunity to win the job, as Jones was announced by the Patriots on Aug. 23 that Newton had to leave the club for four days because of a "misunderstanding" regarding COVID-19 tests taken away from the team facilities.
On Aug. 26, Belichick stated to reporters that Newton did not violate any team rules regarding the testing misunderstanding.
Newton was the starting quarterback for each of New England's preseason games, but he only played two against the New York Giants. He was 2-of-5 for 10 yards with one interception.
Jones was on the other side, going 10-of-14 for 156 yard and a touchdown during the Patriots' 22-20 victory.
Newton signed a one-year incentive-laden deal with the Patriots in March. The 32-year old had a tough first season in New England. He threw for 2,657 yards and ran for 597 yards with a 65.8 completion rate.
New England added to its competition by selecting Jones as the No. 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Alabama's star signal-caller, the Alabama player, finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.
With the goal of improving last year's record of 7-9, the Patriots were also aggressive in free agency. To boost their passing game, they signed Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor and Jonnu Smith as wide receivers.
Jones was the national leader with 4,500 passing yards, and a 77.4% completion rate. He was second with 41 touchdown passes.
The Patriots could have kept Jones and Newton as quarterbacks and used them in different packages.
Instead, Belichick will be joined by Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator, to hand Jones the offense against the Miami Dolphins on September 12.
