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It is rare to see Bill Belichick provide an update on a player’s injury during the offseason, but that’s what he did regarding Cam Newton‘s injured hand.
Here is what Belichick said to reporters when asked for the latest on Newton’s hand:
“Yeah, he’s doing alright. He won’t participate today, but he’s getting better.”
The next question from reporters was, “so, nothing serious?” Belichick confirmed Newton’s absence from OTAs, but didn’t appear worried about his presumed starter’s long-term health.
“No. Well, he’s not out there but I think he’ll be alright.”
The other Patriots quarterbacks, rookie Mac Jones, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer have alternated opportunities to throw with Newton sidelined.
Belichick talked about how Newton’s absence affects the plan and process for his quarterbacks.
It just gives everybody more opportunities. So, a lot of the drills that we did were two spot drills, so that’s two and two. When you have four or if it’s a two-spot drill and you have three, then there’s one person at one spot and two in the other spot, but Josh [McDaniels] does a good job of working that out and depending on what we’re doing and what each individual player needs and so forth, of trying to get the right amount of work to the guys, however it breaks down. He’s got a lot of experience doing that. Josh does a great job of getting everybody prepared and that can come in a variety of ways, from meetings to walkthroughs to practice reps to how he splits them up into individual drills and so forth. So, there’s a lot of different opportunities and he’s done it very well and continues to do that. So, we’ve talked about it, but individually, he’s the one who has to really make those decisions and he does a great job of it.
Each quarterback has had their ups and downs during the few days without Newton. What appears to have become crystal clear is that Jones is still a long ways from being able to supplant the 2015 NFL MVP.
By most accounts, he’s not even past Stidham or Hoyer just yet.
Mac Jones is Still Trying to Find His Way
Jones fans, it’s not time to be alarmed that the rookie is headed toward becoming a bust. His struggles are considered normal growing pains for a rookie learning the speed, increased information, and a new system in the NFL.
During a meeting with the media, Jones discussed the learning curve and his transition from college to pro football.
He said:
You’re gonna have good days, you’re gonna have bad days, but honestly you just gotta take it day by day and don’t look forward to tomorrow and don’t look back at yesterday, be where your feet are. I’ve got a chance to meet and obviously be with all the rookies and that’s been a lot of fun and we’re kinda all going through it and the veteran players are all setting the example so we’re all just trying to be the best Patriots we can be.
You can watch a few of the rookies give their take on becoming professionals in the video below.
Jarrett Stidham Has Been Up and Down
In some ways, Stidham and Hoyer have become the forgotten men in the Patriots’ quarterback conversation. Perhaps, it is even more the case with Stidham whose role is less defined.
Hoyer was brought back to New England primarily to be Jones’ mentor and to help with the transition from college to the NFL. Stidham, who is just 24, is still looking for his first real opportunity to prove he’s a starter in the NFL.
He has had some good days, and some bad ones in OTAs. After outshining Jones in the first day without Newton, Stidham seemed to regress a bit in the next session. Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote:
The completion numbers were in Stidham’s favor, but he had a handful of plays when he waited too long in the pocket and wouldn’t have gotten away with it in live action. That didn’t happen last week when he took the snap and ripped it a bit quicker.
This tendency is part of what has kept him from taking a higher position on the depth chart.
Quite honestly, with more consistency from Stidham, the Patriots might not have signed Newton last year, or again this offseason. We’re still early in the process, but we haven’t seen any reason to believe anyone besides Newton will be starting in Week 1 of the 2021 regular season.
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Bill Belichick Gives Surprising Update on Cam Newton Injury