Mac Jones

New England Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne doesn't have any concerns about rookie quarterback Mac Jones getting the start in Week 1. In fact, he thinks the QB1 designation has only increased Jones' intensity.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Bourne said playing at Alabama has prepped Jones for this moment and the rookie may surprise people with his preparation: 

Having spent the last four years with the San Francisco 49ers, Bourne has played with his fair share of QBs. Injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo over the years have required the services of C.J. Bethard and Nick Mullens. Bourne also spent time in the preseason working with Cam Newton before he was cut. 

The veteran has no concern about Jones being overwhelmed by the moment.

As the Patriots look for a long-term successor to Tom Brady's offense, that type of poise will certainly come in handy. 

New England Patriots fans are ready for the Mac Jones era. Very, very ready. 

After the Patriots released Cam Newton on Tuesday and promoted Jones into the starting lineup, the rookie's jersey has already sold out at the Patriots Pro Shop, per ESPN's Mike Reiss:

While Newton's release may have come as a surprise, Jones winning the job wasn't. He emerged this summer as the better option both in the present and future:

Being the starting quarterback of the Patriots comes with high expectations after Tom Brady's historic 20 years at the helm. It's folly to expecting Jones—or any quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes—to reach those levels.

But Pats fans are clearly excited about the new man under center. 

At least one of Bill Belichick's former players doesn't think his reputation as an iconic head coach is quite deserved. 

In response to a tweet from ESPN's Louis Riddick about Cam Newton being released, Asante Samuel called Belichick "just another coach" without Tom Brady as his quarterback:

Last season marked the first time that Brady and Belichick weren't together in New England. They both joined the organization in 2000 when Belichick was hired as head coach and Brady was a sixth-round draft pick. 

After spending his rookie year as a backup, Brady took over in Week 2 of the 2001 season when Drew Bledsoe suffered an injury against the New York Jets. The change turned out to be the most significant roster move in NFL history. 

The Patriots went on to win six Super Bowls and nine AFC championships from 2001-19. Brady won Super Bowl MVP five times and NFL MVP three times during that span. Belichick was named Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010. 

Brady's departure left Belichick and the Patriots with an impossible hole to fill. Newton struggled in his only season with the team, throwing for 2,657 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 starts. 

Considering how many injuries, opt-outs and roster changes the Patriots had last season, their 7-9 record is a pretty strong point in favor of Belichick's coaching. It does hurt, though, that Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory. 

Samuel was on the Patriots during the early days of the franchise's dynasty. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the organization out of Central Florida in 2003. 

New England won back-to-back Super Bowl titles in Samuel's first two seasons in the NFL. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent after the 2007 season.     

If you're holding a Mac Jones for Offensive Rookie of the Year ticket from earlier this summer, odds are you're pretty happy right about now.

Jones, who opened at 12-1 and was 10-1 as recently as this week, has now jumped all the way up to 6-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook following news he will serve as the Patriots' Week 1 starter.

Only Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has better odds than Jones.

A quarterback has won Offensive Rookie of the Year five of the last 10 years, including each of the last two. A running back has won the award four times.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris stands out well above the crowd among the backs and is a sneaky-smart bet if he stays healthy. Harris should be the three-down workhorse in Pittsburgh.

Jones is coming off a stellar junior season that saw him reset the Alabama passing record book. He threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns against four interceptions while leading the Crimson Tide to a national championship.

The Patriots won't give Jones quite the same level of talent at the skill positions. Jones, Harris, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle were all first-round picks. Alabama had arguably the greatest offense it has ever put on a field last season.

The Patriots, by contrast, rank as mediocre-at-best at the skill positions despite a heavy investment on the offensive side of the ball this offseason. Jones at 6-1 for Rookie of the Year seems on the high end of possibilities. 

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Quarterback Cam Newton posted a statement on his Instagram story after the New England Patriots released him Tuesday as part of their final roster cuts ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

Newton's departure leaves rookie Mac Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in this year's draft, as the Pats' starter heading into their Week 1 home game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12.

The 2015 NFL MVP struggled as the Patriots' starter last season. While he completed 65.8 percent of his passes, he threw for only 2,657 yards in 15 games with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He did add 592 rushing yards and 12 scores on the ground.

Newton, 32, showed some promising signs throughout training camp and the preseason. However, it's still unclear whether he'll ever to return to the upper echelon of quarterbacks after dealing with shoulder and foot injuries during his final two years with the Carolina Panthers.

In turn, the Patriots decided to hand the offense to Jones right out of the gate.

The 22-year-old Florida native is coming off a tremendous final college season. He led Alabama to a national championship while throwing 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions in 13 games.

It's impossible to get a full read based solely on preseason performance, but Jones did perform well by completing 69 percent of his throws for 389 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

"I've gotten a lot opportunities to play and I can improve on everything that I want to improve on," Jones told reporters after the Patriots' preseason finale. "I think I've made progress. But honestly it's just the only thing that matters is today, and then tomorrow I'll focus on tomorrow."

 Newton's track record as a three-time Pro Bowl selection should lead him to generate interest as a free agent. NFL insider Josina Anderson reported the Cowboys "will do their due diligence" on the quarterback.

One factor that could work against him is his vaccination status, which played a role in his exit from New England, per Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network. Having a backup signal-caller facing more stringent testing requirements and protocols comes with risk.

If Newton isn't interested in a backup role, he might have to wait for injuries to arise during the regular season to see whether a starting job may come available.

Mac Jones is the New England Patriots' starting quarterback, and he has no one looking in his rearview mirror. 

The Patriots shockingly released Cam Newton on Tuesday, paving the way for Jones to step in as their Week 1 starter. Jones outplayed Newton throughout the preseason, with the latter also missing critical camp time after misunderstanding testing rules for unvaccinated players.

The Jones offense will be unlike the one from a year ago with Newton under center. Jones is not much of a runner, which should be a boost to every skill-position player on the roster.

The biggest winner from a fantasy perspective is running back Damien Harris, who won't have to worry about Newton taking his goal-line touches. Newton had 22 carries inside the 5-yard line last season; no running back on the roster had more than five. 

Harris still won't play much of a factor in the passing game, but double-digit rushing touchdowns is now a distinct possibility. 

Jones has also steadily checked down on passes during the preseason, which could mean good things for James White and Jonnu Smith. The Patriots probably won't pass enough to make White much more than a flex play in deep leagues, but Smith is increasingly looking like the tight end you want in New England.

Figuring out the Patriots' top receiver will be a little more difficult. Jakobi Meyers was the clear top target of Newton's and was rising up draft boards in the preseason after continuing to show chemistry with the 2015 NFL MVP. Meyers didn't play as much with Jones during the preseason, so it'll be interesting to see if he remains the primary target or someone like Nelson Agholor winds up stepping up.

Meyers is still a worthy late-round pickup, but he may not be as valuable now with Newton out of the picture. 

In a surprising development, the New England Patriots will roll with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback to open the 2021 regular season after reportedly releasing Cam Newton. 

Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reported Newton was released on Tuesday, ahead of the 4 p.m. ET deadline for teams to cut their rosters down to 53 players.

There was plenty of mystery throughout training camp and the preseason about who New England's starting quarterback would be. 

In the first week of training camp, Belichick told reporters that Newton was in position to start, but he would continue to evaluate things. 

"We'll take a look at the whole situation," he said. "I don't think you want to evaluate players at any position off one or two plays, or maybe a day. So from a consistency standpoint, that's always important. And obviously production. So hopefully those things will be good, and I'm sure it will be a hard decision."

Despite Belichick's comments, Newton told reporters on Aug. 16 that the Patriots coach hadn't told either quarterback anything. 

"No. You know he hasn't said that. So for you to just ask that question, you know, it is what it is," he said. "Every single day, I'm coming out here with the anticipation to just get better, and that's the only thing that I can do. So I can control that."

Both Newton and Jones played well in New England's second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Newton, who started the game, finished 8-of-9 for 103 yards and one touchdown. Jones went 13-of-19 for 146 yards in relief. 

There did appear to be an opening for Jones to win the job on Aug. 23 when the Patriots announced that Newton had to stay away from the club for four days due to a "misunderstanding" about COVID-19 tests conducted away from team facilities. 

Belichick told reporters on Aug. 26 that Newton didn't violate any team rules related to the testing misunderstanding. 

Newton started each of New England's three preseason contests, though he only played two drives against the New York Giants on Sunday. He finished 2-of-5 for 10 yards and one interception. 

Jones, on the other hand, went 10-of-14 for 156 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' 22-20 win. 

Newton re-signed with the Patriots on a one-year, incentive-laden deal in March. The 32-year-old had a difficult first season in New England. He threw for 2,657 yards, ran for 597 yards, accounted for 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 65.8 completion percentage. 

New England added competition in its quarterback room by selecting Jones with the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The Alabama star was the best signal-caller in college football last season, finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting. 

The Patriots also got aggressive in free agency with the hope of improving on last year's 7-9 record. They signed wide receivers Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith to boost the passing game. 

Jones led the nation with 4,500 passing yards and a 77.4 completion percentage. He finished second with 41 touchdown passes. 

Given how different Newton and Jones are as quarterbacks, the Patriots could have kept both and tried to use them in different packages. 

Instead, Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are prepared to turn the offense over to Jones right out of the gate against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12.