Patriots Cut Cam Newton

[RiverDog]

I didn't see this one coming:

New England Patriots cut Cam Newton as rookie Mac Jones wins starting QB job, per reports

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 663212001/

Today is the day teams have to be down to their final 53, so there's a good chance we'll hear some more surprise cuts before the day is over.

[c_hawkbob]

I didn't see this one coming:

New England Patriots cut Cam Newton as rookie Mac Jones wins starting QB job, per reports

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 663212001/

Today is the day teams have to be down to their final 53, so there's a good chance we'll hear some more surprise cuts before the day is over.

Really? I did. Cam's not the QB he once was even though he does appear to have matured considerably recently.

[RiverDog]

I didn't see this one coming:

New England Patriots cut Cam Newton as rookie Mac Jones wins starting QB job, per reports

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 663212001/

Today is the day teams have to be down to their final 53, so there's a good chance we'll hear some more surprise cuts before the day is over.

Really? I did. Cam's not the QB he once was even though he does appear to have matured considerably recently.

So you thought that Belichick would start the season with a 22 year old rookie as his QB and have enough confidence in him that he'd cut the veteran and former MVP who played moderately well for him last season?

I realize that Cam's not the QB he once was, but the Pats have truly put all their eggs in one basket. Their other backup, Jarrett Stidham, is on IR after undergoing back surgery, which leaves them with Brian Hoyer as their sole insurance policy.

[trents]

I think BB sees Tom Brady II in Mac Jones. Jones is a smart, confident player who nearly always makes the right decision with the ball even though, like Brady, he is not a 5 tool athlete. But he's got it between the ears which is the most important attribute a QB can have. I've come to believe that the most common reason so many star college QBs don't pan out in the NFL is not for lack of athleticism or arm strength but lack of being able to process what they see on the field fast enough to make the right decision.

It's the same reason so many promising baseball players coming out of the minors never succeed in the majors. They can't process what they see fast enough when the ball is coming off the hand of the pitcher in order to decide whether or not to swing.

[Hawktawk]

Other than the number Jones game looks like Brady as about a 3 year starter . Big tall giraffe , fearless , big arm, slides well in the pocket . Several factors contributed to Newton’s demise . It likely didn’t help that he posted QB1 on social media leading to Belichick having to answer questions which the answer was no . He refused vaccination in spite of teams being subject to draconian remedies for outbreaks with unvaccinated players . There were apparently other issues. And his performance was mediocre . A shell of the guy from his MVP year. Not sure where he goes from here.

[RiverDog]

Other than the number Jones game looks like Brady as about a 3 year starter . Big tall giraffe , fearless , big arm, slides well in the pocket . Several factors contributed to Newton’s demise . It likely didn’t help that he posted QB1 on social media leading to Belichick having to answer questions which the answer was no . He refused vaccination in spite of teams being subject to draconian remedies for outbreaks with unvaccinated players . There were apparently other issues. And his performance was mediocre . A shell of the guy from his MVP year. Not sure where he goes from here.

Wow, Hawktalk, that's a lot of stuff I never heard about. Nice scoop!

Having a quarterback on the roster that isn't vaccinated is a recipe for disaster. They can't be full participants in meetings and if they were to come down with Covid, it takes an almost irreplaceable player out of the mix, not to mention anyone they might have come in contact with. They'd put themselves in a situation like Denver was last year when all of their QB's had to sit out due Covid protocols. No wonder they cut him.

[Aseahawkfan]

Bill B unlikely to tolerate unvaccinated players endangering the team. Cam still thinks he's Superman and he's just some guy now that couldn't turn all his physical skills into a Super Bowl winning QB and is now on the decline.

[Hawktawk]

Bill for B unlikely to tolerate unvaccinated players endangering the team. Cam still thinks he's Superman and he's just some guy now that couldn't turn all his physical skills into a Super Bowl winning QB and is now on the decline.

The biggest decline has been between the ears and inside the chest . Forget processing information on the field which was never his strong suit . The threat of him running kept defenders peeking in the backfield and lots of patting the ball and throwing to wide open guys . As less of a run threat he’s just a severe head case with mediocre accuracy . And he should have known better than to cross Belichick like that . Someone will take a flyer on him but I wouldn’t trade him for geno.

[Aseahawkfan]

The biggest decline has been between the ears and inside the chest . Forget processing information on the field which was never his strong suit . The threat of him running kept defenders peeking in the backfield and lots of patting the ball and throwing to wide open guys . As less of a run threat he’s just a severe head case with mediocre accuracy . And he should have known better than to cross Belichick like that . Someone will take a flyer on him but I wouldn’t trade him for geno.

Geno seems to be a good backup. Can do the job. No off the field troubles. Keeps within the team framework. You can make a good living in the NFL being a backup.

[obiken]

Other than the number Jones game looks like Brady as about a 3 year starter . Big tall giraffe , fearless , big arm, slides well in the pocket . Several factors contributed to Newton’s demise . It likely didn’t help that he posted QB1 on social media leading to Belichick having to answer questions which the answer was no . He refused vaccination in spite of teams being subject to draconian remedies for outbreaks with unvaccinated players . There were apparently other issues. And his performance was mediocre . A shell of the guy from his MVP year. Not sure where he goes from here.

It was not vaxxing that was the final straw. Cam was bad last year because the team was bad last year, and they had the most opt outs, BB was just done. I think they win 9 games with Cam or MJ. BTW does MVP really mean your a great QB, or you just had a good year with a good team. Who on this site remembers John Brodie?

[Vegaseahawk]

Never liked the guy as a football player or a role model. Cocky & arrogant when things went well, & a petulant, pouting child when they didn't. Zero character in the man. Zero leadership qualities. Another DNA lottery winner washes out.

[jshawaii22]

RD's dead-on with this one. Cam refused to get the 'stab'... game over, especially with whatever happened last week with him on some kind of stay away order and the #1 pick, Jones, he looked pretty good in their final preseason game. And... it's Belichick and he don't give a crap about feelings and seniority.

I do believe Cam was offered the backup QB role and refused it, at least until his money starts to run out. He doesn't have endorsements that I know of and lifestyle is hard to break even at 40. That's where I give Hass a lot of credit. He had no issue taking a few million a year to be a backup for a few years.

[RiverDog]

Other than the number Jones game looks like Brady as about a 3 year starter . Big tall giraffe , fearless , big arm, slides well in the pocket . Several factors contributed to Newton’s demise . It likely didn’t help that he posted QB1 on social media leading to Belichick having to answer questions which the answer was no . He refused vaccination in spite of teams being subject to draconian remedies for outbreaks with unvaccinated players . There were apparently other issues. And his performance was mediocre . A shell of the guy from his MVP year. Not sure where he goes from here.

It was not vaxxing that was the final straw. Cam was bad last year because the team was bad last year, and they had the most opt outs, BB was just done. I think they win 9 games with Cam or MJ. BTW does MVP really mean your a great QB, or you just had a good year with a good team. Who on this site remembers John Brodie?

I disagree. Cam didn't have a Pro Bowl season last year, but he also didn't have a lot of help. I can't believe that the Patriots plan going in was to start Jones in the opener even if he looked better than Cam in practice. Not very many rookies start the season opener as conventional wisdom is to break them in slowly and let them see the game from the sidelines for at least the first part of their rookie year.

After reading the various reports, the fact that Cam didn't get vaccinated, which led to his missing a number of practices, was critical in the Pat's decision making process. Of the roughly 70-80 QB's in the league, it would surprise me if any of them were unvaccinated. The coaches all remember what happened to Denver last season when they lost all 4 of their QB's for a game to a Covid protocol and they're not going to take a chance. Even with a vaccinated player, if they are in close contact with someone that tests positive they have to sit out a couple days until they have two negative tests spaced 24 hours apart. IMO not getting vaxxed was the primary reason Newton was cut.

Of course, I remember John Brodie, as I'm sure that several posters do as well. What's your point?

[RiverDog]

RD's dead-on with this one. Cam refused to get the 'stab'... game over, especially with whatever happened last week with him on some kind of stay away order and the #1 pick, Jones, he looked pretty good in their final preseason game. And... it's Belichick and he don't give a crap about feelings and seniority.

I do believe Cam was offered the backup QB role and refused it, at least until his money starts to run out. He doesn't have endorsements that I know of and lifestyle is hard to break even at 40. That's where I give Hass a lot of credit. He had no issue taking a few million a year to be a backup for a few years.

I'll bet that he wasn't offered the backup QB role unless he agreed to get vaccinated, and furthermore, I'm willing to wager that no one picks him up unless and until he gets fully vaccinated. The Covid protocols are just too severe to risk an unvaccinated quarterback coming down with Covid, especially in light of how much more contagious this Delta variant is. Anti vaxxers tend to hang out together, which further elevates the risk of Cam coming down with Covid. And you're absolutely right about Belichick. If he stood up to Tom Brady like he did, he sure as hell wasn't going to flinch when it came time to make a decision on Cam. If there's one coach in the NFL that you don't want to cross, it's Belichick.

This could be the end of Cam's football life. He must have one helluva moral objection to vaccines to sacrifice his career for it. And like you said, he doesn't appear to have any endorsements or plans for his life after football. You gotta wonder what's going on inside that guy's mind.

[NorthHawk]

If he's taken care of his money he's got enough of it to not have to worry about what he's going to do after Football.
I doubt any team would ever tell a player that the vaccination status was the reason for cutting them as there are
some big penalties for doing so. Urban Meyer is under investigation for just insinuating that it would be a factor,
so making it part of an official contract would be really stupid.

QB is probably the worst position to not be vaccinated because they can lose 2 weeks just for close contact and if
they get the virus they could be lost for the rest of the year depending on the severity. That's too much of a gamble
for a team unless like the Vikings they have a lot of money invested in their QB and no reasonably equivalent backup
in their system.