QB competition doesn’t appear to exist
By Ben Volin
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If there was one reason to get excited about Patriots training camp this year, it was to watch a true quarterback competition unfold between an incumbent veteran (Cam Newton) and a hot-shot rookie (Mac Jones).
But it sure doesn’t seem like there is an open competition in Foxborough. Bill Belichick was adamant last week that Newton is the starter, and through the first two weeks of camp Belichick has stuck to his word. Anyone watching practice can tell Newton is the clear, unequivocal starter.
Yes, there are days when Jones gets more reps in practice, and there are days when Jones has a better performance in the pocket and makes better throws than Newton.
But Newton starts every drill. Newton is the one getting the most work with the starting offensive line, and working with the starting receivers during special teams drills. Many of Jones’ reps are with the backups, and a few are with the rookies and scout team.
From this vantage point, it’s one quarterback (Jones) getting an education on what it means to be a Patriot and an NFL player, and one quarterback (Newton) getting ready to be the Week 1 starter.
That’s not to say that Jones can’t overtake Newton for the job. If Newton goes in the tank and suddenly can’t complete a pass in practice, Belichick will make the switch.
But if there’s an open competition taking place, it’s not being seen. Newton is the clear leader, and it’s going to take a lot — like an injury or a total meltdown — for him not to be the Week 1 starter.
As for Jones, it does seem as if he is getting more work with the first team and more attention from Josh McDaniels than other young quarterbacks did in the past. When Jimmy Garoppolo arrived in 2014, he first had to surpass Ryan Mallett before getting reps with the starters. Jarrett Stidham was behind Brian Hoyer on the depth chart when he arrived in 2019.
But Jones does seem to be on an accelerated developmental schedule and is getting a lot of work this camp, as the Patriots are more invested in his development than they were with previous QBs.
It’s also important to get Jones as much work as possible during these six weeks because once the season starts, the backup QB usually doesn’t get too much work in practice.
Too many running backs?: The Patriots signed several veterans this offseason and don’t appear to have too many open roster spots this training camp.
But running back is one position that has a glut of talent. The Patriots have six solid backs in Damien Harris, Sony Michel, James White, J.J. Taylor, Rhamondre Stevenson and Brandon Bolden, but they will probably only keep five, at most, on the roster.
If all six make it healthy through training camp, Michel could be the odd man out. He has been a solid runner in three seasons but hasn’t lived up to the firstround billing, doesn’t add much in the passing game and has been surpassed by Harris as the clear starter.
White is the third-down back, Bolden is a special teams ace and Taylor, entering his second season, flashed a lot of potential as a rookie and could be a great backup for White.
The wild card is Stevenson, the fourth-round pick. He’ll be on the roster, but he may not factor into the rotation until the coaches feel confident in his knowledge of the offense and ability to pick up blitzes.
If Stevenson is ready by Week 1, Michel could be trade bait (the Rams, who lost Cam Akers, make a lot of sense). Michel is due a $1.792 million salary this year, with $555,747 of it fully guaranteed.
Solid start for Harry: N’Keal Harry has had a nice start to training camp.
So have second-year receivers Kristian Wilkerson and Isaiah Zuber, who have all made a lot of impressive catches so far.
But Harry’s $1.413 million salary is fully guaranteed, so the Patriots may be better off keeping him on the 53-man roster if they can’t find a suitable trade offer. Wilkerson and Zuber have minimum-salary contracts and practice squad eligibility. The Patriots can easily keep both on the taxi squad and bump them up to the game-day roster throughout the season.