Belichick considers using multiple-quarterback offense
Bill Belichick said he’s open to using a two-quarterback system this season, another example of how radically different the New England Patriots could look after Tom Brady’s departure.
Belichick was asked about platooning his quarterbacks before Wednesday’s practice. The longtime coach acknowledged he was considering the possibility, and the Patriots later used all three during a single scrimmage series.
The three quarterbacks competing to be Brady’s successor — Cam Newton,
Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer — have different skill sets.
At 6 feet 5 and 245 pounds, Newton possesses size, athleticism and running ability along with an arm that accounted for 35 touchdown passes during his 2015 MVP season.
Hoyer has the most experience in the Patriots offense. Stidham has youth and potential, having beaten out Hoyer as a rookie last season to be No. 2.
Ravens
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh knows he has a couple of All-Pro cornerbacks on his roster, but he suggested that onlookers are underestimating another player at the position: Jimmy Smith.
A 10-year veteran, Smith, 32, has shed a chunk of weight, according to Harbaugh, dropping from close to 220 pounds to around 207. The lighter frame might help Smith be nimble this year after a knee sprain in the 2019 season opener sidelined him for six games.
Smith entered free agency in March and spent several weeks on the market, returning to Baltimore on a one-year, $3.5 million contract.
Elsewhere
The NFL is considering having playoff games in a “bubble” environment, a top league official said, in hopes of bolstering its chances to complete its postseason amid the pandemic. Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said the concept was raised by New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton during a recent conference call involving members of the league’s competition committee. League leaders told Payton that Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, “would explore” the idea, Vincent said.