Shortly after the draft, Bill Belichick said Cam Newton was the Patriots‘ starter and Mac Jones would develop behind him. Through two-plus weeks of training camp, a competition could be brewing. The gap between Newton and Jones has narrowed, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes. It is not certain if Jones can mount a legitimate charge to unseat Newton for Week 1, but modern NFL history — excepting the Packers’ blueprints — points to this transition happening this season. Newton has never played a backup role as a pro, so it would be interesting to see how the Patriots would proceed if Jones beats him out. If Jones does end up winning the job, Belichick giving Newton a choice to either stay with the Patriots or be released would not surprise Reiss. New England re-signed Brian Hoyer this offseason and has Jarrett Stidham on its roster.
Here is the latest quarterback news from around the league:
- The Cowboys are being cautious with Dak Prescott‘s injured shoulder, but good news continues to emerge on the sixth-year quarterback. After a strange update by the Cowboys’ Twitter account indicated Prescott would undergo a second MRI, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes that exam took place Saturday and revealed progress. Dak’s ailing shoulder is healing on schedule (Twitter link). Prescott threw before the Cowboys’ second preseason game this weekend and experienced no pain in doing so, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link). Prescott is likely to return to practice this week, and Rapoport notes playing in one preseason game is on the table. It does not appear, at this point, Cowboys fans should be concerned about Dak missing Week 1.
- Kyle Shanahan said recently Josh Rosen was trending downward. The former top-10 pick, who is vying for the 49ers‘ third-string job, took a couple of steps back in recent practices, per Shanahan (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch). In Rosen’s preseason debut with the team, he completed 10 of 15 passes for 93 yards but threw an interception. When asked postgame about Shanahan’s critique, Rosen said he does not receive many practice reps in the first place, per Branch, who adds it is unlikely Rosen gained ground in his competition with Nate Sudfeld to make the team’s 53-man roster. Sudfeld did not play in the 49ers’ preseason opener. The 49ers keeping both, with the competition’s loser on the practice squad, is in play. But Rosen losing this battle would represent another setback in a pro career filled with them.
- As you’ve surely heard in recent years, Tom Brady wants to play until age 45. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer recently signed a Buccaneers extension that runs through 2022, and longtime trainer Alex Guerrero said during an appearance on the Adam Schefter Podcast (via Boston.com) his client should not be expected to retire after this season. Guerrero said Brady playing beyond 2022 would not surprise. Brady has kept this door open, though the 44-year-old quarterback has not committed to playing beyond next season.
OK, raise your hand if Josh Rosen trending downward is going to have a serious impact on the fortunes of your fantasy football team.
He really showed up those teams for passing on him!
Underrated Comment
M. McCarthy is grateful his contract is fully guaranteed!
If you can’t beat out Nate Sudfield, you don’t belong on an NFL roster.
I feel bad for Rosen, kid needs a legitimate shot somewhere.
Yeah. Someone like Arizona should have drafted him. Maybe made him starter at some point….
He surely made the most of his chances didn’t he?
Look at Josh Allens first year with the Bills. Dont write off a player with a great skill set. Rosen was never given the chance to bloom.
He’s had a few. Maybe he just can’t play. That was the word here in AZ even before his rookie season ended. I mean he was the starter on the team that drafted him; he got traded to a rebuilding team that didn’t have a QB at the time; and then he could have been understudy to Tom Brady for a couple of years and instead chose to leave. That’s a lot of people passing on his awesome talent that he thinks he has.
That team was an absolute mess and it was obvious. The line was atrocious, the run game relied on an overpaid and injury prone starter behind that line, and there were no wide receivers to speak of behind the great Larry Fitzgerald. The worst part was that the offensive staff was brand new and never had a good gameplan in place-which is not unusual for a first year defensive minded head coach hired ostensibly to oversee a rebuild. Instead, they fired him in a year and shipped off Rosen to learn yet another playbook on a team with a starter. Practice squad reps never produce starters, especially guys who have been broken as badly as Rosen has. No, he may never have turned out to be great, but he did not get a chance to even really find out.
I remember the big knock on Rosen when he was coming out from college was the desire he had to play the game. I believe he even told some that his preferred sport was tennis, not football. Apparently came from a well to do family, got by on his talent and was not into the extra work that comes with being a top flight NFL QB.
There is no denying his physical talent, but in the pros it’s the little things that separate the average from the superstars. Having had such short stays with now 3 different franchises, I have to question his mental makeup and work ethic.
I don’t think that was the problem or why he slid. Observers here during his first training camp said that he was kind of like those old Washington players back in the day said about Heath Shuler when he got drafted by when they practiced against him, he didn’t belong out there. It’s not a physical problem as Shuler was probably one of the most athletic QBs to come into the league back then just like Rosen seems to have all of the physical ability. Some of these guys just aren’t NFL players. That’s on him. Players said Brady was an afterthought in Patriot camp and his two off-seasons before he took over for Bledsoe due to necessity. He changed that perception with work and succeeding over and over again. Rosen’s been in the league in four different systems now, and he’s not changing that perception.