The 2020 New England Patriots were going to have alot of issues after Brady decided to pack up and head to Florida after 20 seasons of the best football ever played by anyone at the QB position. Anybody who had to step up and be the guy that replaced the GOAT was going to have an insane amount of pressure and unimaginable expectations, and the Patriots had a couple of options to fill that role. Veteran backup Brian Hoyer who is on his 3rd stint with the Patriots and started his carreer here in 2009. And 2019 draft pick Jarrett Stidham who had all of 4 attemps in the 2019 season. Left with those options Coach/GM/Fashion Icon Bill Belichick went out and signed former MVP Cam Newton to a 1 year deal for $1.5 guaranteed with incentives that could have made it up to $9 million which he obviously didn’t hit.
From everything we have heard Cam was the perfect teammate and a great guy in the locker room. There was even some talk very early on in the season that this match of Cam and Bill looked to really be clicking and Cam was looking good on the field, even though he had no training camp or time to learn one of the most complex playbooks in football. Then he got COVID and everything changed. He wasn’t the same guy on the field, his accuracy and arm strength just wasn’t there and he seemed to never get the correct read on who was open or when to run with the ball. He threw only 8 TD’s all year, his passing yards were way down ranking 24th in the league but he did run the ball well and had 14 TD’s rushing. So when this years draft came along and had a good crop of QB’s you knew the Pats were going to try to find there guy knowing that Stidham isn’t going to be the QB of the future and Newton was just a band-aide after Brady’s departure and they went out and got Mac Jones at 15th overall. Newton did sign a new deal with New England in the off season worth up to $14 million with a $2 million signing bonus and only $1.5 Million guaranteed.
All through the off season and into preseason the talk around Patriots Place mostly revolved around 1 thing: Cam or Mac? Everyone in the orginization was pretty tight lipped about who would be named starter but we heard from alot of players/coaches/media members how good the kid looked and how fast he is learning this complex playbook. From what we were seeing he was out playing Newton when given the chance to go with the starters but it was always Newton who would come out first with the starters and start all the pre-season games. I know you shouldn’t put much stock in the pre-season but this year was different. Every snap and every throw mattered and when one guy looked good in practice the first thing people would do is compare it to the other. And when Mac Jones got those 5 days with the starters to himself because Newton was not vaccinated and broke testing protocols and had to sit he started to really shine.
In the last pre-season game against the New York Football Giants Cam Newton went 2/5 for 10 yards and a pick and his night was over. The team brought Jones in and he dazzeled again going 10/14 for 156 yards and a TD (should have been 2 if not for another drop in the endzone). Hoyer finished off the game going 9/10 for 73 yards. Another promising step forward for Jones but it was Newton who got the start again and if you listened to any local talk sports radio it was all but over on who the starter was going to be in their opinions: Newton. I even heard one radio guy claim that Bilichick was still mad over the whole Jimmy G/Brady fiasco, and because Mr. Kraft loves Mac Jones, that that’s the reason he was going to name Cam the starter and then leave town after the year was over (Sports talk radio guys in Boston are the WORST).
Well, 2 days later Coach/GM/Fashion Icon Bill Bilichick decided to release Cam Newton and name young Mac Jones the starter of the New England Patriots. Rumors started swirling yesterday that this might be the case and he reason why is a little funny and it all goes back to backup QB Axel Edward Brian Hoyer (he should only go by Ax from here forward). You see, Hoyer has been spotted throughout pre-season wearing a face mask when on the field talking with other players at practice when not playing and in the facilities. But this week the mask was gone! Why did this become news? Because the thought around this was if Axel Hoyer finally got vaccinated it must mean he’s going to be around for a while and for that to happen he would have to be the backup. There are too many other positions and tough cuts to make to keep all 3 QB’s around on a 53 man roster. So if Hoyer is mask-less and is staying around, the team surely isn’t going to cut their 1st round draft pick. Cam was the odd-man out with his $14 million contract and only $1.5 guaranteed.
There is going to be alot of debate about this move in the coming weeks. Why cut Cam and keep Hoyer and Stidham (who recently underwent back surgery and will be out of action at least 12 weeks)? If for some reason Jones is a complete bust or god forbid gets hurt the team isn’t going anywhere with Ax Hoyer under center. Sure he is a servicable QB and knows the system inside and out but he is not the guy. Would having Cam Newton waiting in the wings be too much for a Young rookie? To look over his shoulder when he is having a bad game and see the former MVP just sitting there with is great smile just waiting to take his job might not be the best thing for Jones. So I agree with the move. Naming Jones the starter after the summer he had and the season the Newton had last year just made sense. Keeping Newton on board for everyone to debate who should be starting wasn’t going to help anyone and Hoyer can help the rookie learn and grow and step in if he has to. Hopefully Stidham’s back can heal up and get him on the practice squad to start progessing too.
For now all we can do is wait till September 12th for the debut of Mac Jones against the Dolphins. And who is he facing? Someone else’s job he took down in Alabama in Tua.
LET THE MAC JONES ERA BEGIN!