Although the quarterback competition is Foxborough seems to still be in the extremely early stages, the play gap in play between the Patriots two entangled quarterbacks has been steep since training camp first began.
So far rookie quarterback Mac Jones has very much looked the part of what head coach Bill Belichick envisioned him to be when the team spent its first round pick on him. Jones has been come into his own quite nicely in the early portion of practices, while returning starter Cam Newton is still trying to work through the kinks.
Newton has struggled with turnovers on the practice field as he tossed two during the teams last practice on Wednesday giving him a total of five in seven practices. Comparatively, Jones has thrown two interceptions and one was from the result of a tipped pass by his receiver.
Cam Newton struggled with accuracy today and was 7 of 13 (one drop) with 2 INTs. He’s now got 5 INTs in camp.
Mac Jones was sharp throughout and was 17 of 23 (three drops, one incompletion when Henry tripped) with an INT on a dropped ball. He’s got 2 INTs in camp.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 4, 2021
Back in June, Newton suffered a bone bruise in his right throwing hand which sidelined him for a portion of the Patriots OTAs. Although its clear he’s trying to get back into the swing of things, Belichick has been adamant that Newton will be the starting quarterback when the season begins this fall.
Jones’ progression and precision has been welcomed by the team, but is still not quite enough to leap from a veteran quarterback before any live game action has been played.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
