Source: Mitchell Leff / Getty
The New England Patriots will be entering the 2021-22 season without a beloved player and reportedly solid teammate in
Cam Newton after the team let him go. Instead, the team will forge ahead with their 22-year-old rookie quarterback Mac Jones and
NFL Twitter has plenty to say about the move.
The Boston Globe was the
first to break the news that Newton would no longer be with the team, which has scrambled to find footing since the departure of former mainstay Tom Brady, who has since gone on to win big with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It appears that by the observations on Twitter, Newton takin an anti-vaccine stance led to his ouster.
Newton, 32, didn’t turn in his best season with the Patriots but did show glimpses of why he was considered one of the most elite and versatile players in his position. While Newtown didn’t have a QB rating over 90 since 2018, he did manage to end his time at New England with a rating of 82 to go along with eight passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns.
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Mac Jones, who was a star at the University of Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide win two CFP National Championships before going on as a top prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft. On Sunday, Jones praised Newtown as a mentor after he was asked about potentially winning the starting job over the incumbent player.
“I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities to play and I can improve on everything I want to improve on. So I think just learning from [Brian] Hoyer, Cam, Jarrett [Stidham], any one I can, and listening to Josh [McDaniels] and his coaching, there’s a lot of work to do but I think I’ve made progress,” Jones said.
Jones played decently well against secondary NFL units in preseason play but the real test will be how he handles the bright lights when the games count. Amazingly enough, Netwon just signed a one-year, $13.6 million contract with $3.5 million guaranteed earlier in the year. It isn’t known what Newtown’s next moves are but the reactions on Twitter seem to suggest that he’ll go on to help another NFL squad.
Check out the reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
