Dan Sanford

Sports Editor

das6267@psu.edu

Former Super Bowl-contending quarterback Cam Newton was unseated from his starting job in New England Wednesday.

Newton, 32, played one tumultuous season for the Patriots after having spent his first eight full seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Newton was injured for much of the 2019 season with the Panthers, and the team decided to move on without him.

In his ill-fated season with the Patriots, Newton showed signs that his injury might have hampered his playing ability. He recorded career lows in completed passes, though given a new low for attempts, they were fairly accurate at a 65.8 percent completion rate. His total of 2,657 passing yards and eight touchdown completions also fell well below his established pedigree.

Newton found himself rushing with the football more often for the Patriots in 2020 than in most of his tenure with the Panthers. His 12 rushing touchdowns may be the biggest highlight of his season with the Patriots, his highest total since his 2011 rookie season in Carolina, where he set an NFL quarterback record with 14. He attempted a rush 137 times, two shy of his career-high in 2017.

With Patriots coach Bill Belicheck at a crossroad between a declining Newton and an impressive draft prospect in Mac Jones, he opted for the latter when the team made their final roster cuts Wednesday. Jones, who turned 23 Sunday, was the Patriots’ fifteenth-overall draft pick in the 2021 draft from the University of Alabama, the reigning College Football Playoff champions. Newton was not only demoted from his position with the Patriots, but altogether released from the team. Former longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is beginning his career as an NFL analyst for NBC this season, commented that Jones might already be one of the biggest steals of his draft year.

Of the roster move, Belicheck praised Newton’s work ethic, but noted that “he gave [the team] everything he had” on Tuesday, and that Jones was the team’s future at the quarterback position. Despite good performances in the preseason action he was given, Newton missed a week leading up to the club’s final preseason game against the New York Giants, where the Patriots narrowly staved off a comeback bid in the fourth quarter. Due to a misunderstanding of the league’s COVID-19 protocols, Newton was forced off the practice field and into the NFL’s five-day re-entry cadence, and was unavailable for play. Belichick declined to comment whether this affected the direction the team had taken with Newton’s roster status. 

Patriots’ rookie QB Jones impresses in preseason, takes over Newton

Dan Sanford

das6267@psu.edu

Former Super Bowl-contending quarterback Cam Newton was unseated from his starting job in New England Wednesday.

Newton, 32, played one tumultuous season for the Patriots after having spent his first eight full seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Newton was injured for much of the 2019 season with the Panthers, and the team decided to move on without him.

In his ill-fated season with the Patriots, Newton showed signs that his injury might have hampered his playing ability. He recorded career lows in completed passes, though given a new low for attempts, they were fairly accurate at a 65.8 percent completion rate. His total of 2,657 passing yards and eight touchdown completions also fell well below his established pedigree.

Newton found himself rushing with the football more often for the Patriots in 2020 than in most of his tenure with the Panthers. His 12 rushing touchdowns may be the biggest highlight of his season with the Patriots, his highest total since his 2011 rookie season in Carolina, where he set an NFL quarterback record with 14. He attempted a rush 137 times, two shy of his career-high in 2017.

With Patriots coach Bill Belicheck at a crossroad between a declining Newton and an impressive draft prospect in Mac Jones, he opted for the latter when the team made their final roster cuts Wednesday. Jones, who turned 23 Sunday, was the Patriots’ fifteenth-overall draft pick in the 2021 draft from the University of Alabama, the reigning College Football Playoff champions. Newton was not only demoted from his position with the Patriots, but altogether released from the team. Former longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is beginning his career as an NFL analyst for NBC this season, commented that Jones might already be one of the biggest steals of his draft year.

Of the roster move, Belicheck praised Newton’s work ethic, but noted that “he gave [the team] everything he had” on Tuesday, and that Jones was the team’s future at the quarterback position. Despite good performances in the preseason action he was given, Newton missed a week leading up to the club’s final preseason game against the New York Giants, where the Patriots narrowly staved off a comeback bid in the fourth quarter. Due to a misunderstanding of the league’s COVID-19 protocols, Newton was forced off the practice field and into the NFL’s five-day re-entry cadence, and was unavailable for play. Belichick declined to comment whether this affected the direction the team had taken with Newton’s roster status.