The QB battle’s this NFL preseason between the rookies and vets have been exceptionally competitive. The most prominent question mark for who will lead the huddle in Week 1 may be with New England.
Kyle Shanahan has been open about the 49ers riding with Jimmy G. Chicago coach Matt Nagy has affirmed Andy Dalton will be QB1 to start the season. Everyone expects Trevor Lawrence to get the starting role, regardless of if Urban Meyer says so publicly beforehand. Mac Jones and Cam Newton have been duking it out and created a heated competition for the starting status. However, an untimely COVID protocol violation by Cam may present the opportunity for Mac to step in and prove he deserves to lead the charge to kick off the season.
The Patriots announced on Monday that Cam would miss practice until Thursday. They attributed the cause to “a misunderstanding of tests conducted away from NFL facilities.” Newton was traveling to a club-approved medical appointment outside the New England area, and although he received daily negative tests, he is still subject to a 5-day return process. The “misunderstanding” may stem from the specific testing sites or methods. Whatever the trigger was, it violated the NFL-NFLPA protocols and induced the suspension from team activities until August 26.
The NFLPA protocols have grown in complexity and have stringent regulations regarding testing locations, specimen collections, and test types. While it’s possible Cam violated one of the numerous regulations, only unvaccinated players must be tested daily for COVID. Missing a day of testing subjects a player to “re-entry” testing. This process prohibits the player from entering a team facility until five consecutive days of negative tests. Newton declined to comment on his vaccination status when asked earlier in the preseason.
With the veteran quarterback missing this pivotal time to compete for the starting spot, rookie Mac Jones has a shot at getting ahead in the battle. The match between quarterbacks has been relatively close thus far. Former MVP Cam Newton obviously has solidified his status as a QB1-caliber player, but Jones has impressed in camp and preseason games to at least put him in serious contention of getting the nod in Week 1.
Mac Jones
In the first game of the preseason, Mac Jones threw 19 attempts and completed 13 for 87 yards, while Cam went 4/7 with 49 yards. The first two offensive drives were led by Cam, with the following five drives managed by Mac, which were primarily against Washington’s second- and third-string defenders.
The Patriots’ second preseason game saw Jones again get more action, throwing 13/19 for 146 yards. Cam was 8-for-9 with a touchdown. A noteworthy stat: Cam completed three passes of ten or more air yards in his second series of the game. In 2020, he completed three passes of 10+ air yards in a single drive just twice.
Bill Belichick was characteristically short in responding to questions on the matter. Mike Giardi of the NFL Network reported the Patriots are “frustrated” with the reality of Cam being in this position. Belichick declined to address speculative questions pertaining to potential organizational frustration. “I don’t have anything to add to the statement. We’ve given information, and that’s all I have,” Coach Belichick said. However, he did agree this is a significant opportunity for Jones to take a big step in the battle for the starting quarterback position.
Newton has commanded first-team reps at practice until this point. Earlier on Monday, Belichick said that Newton was the starting quarterback but had to earn the right to maintain that status. Coach Belichick is notoriously silent on position battles or player statuses heading into games. He said there is always the possibility of changing the depth chart if performance dictates another player deserves a position more.
The starting quarterback to lead the Patriots against the Miami Dolphins is up in the air. With Newton temporarily sidelined, Mac has had the chance to show his talent and cohesiveness with the rest of the first-team starters all week and will take critical reps in the first of two joint practices with the Giants in Foxborough on Wednesday. During the regular season, a slip-up like Newton’s would pose a dangerous threat to losing a starting role for any player.
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