Patriots: NFL evaluator thinks Cam Newton will push Mac Jones to bench for a while

When will New England Patriots fans see the “hope” they acquired when they drafted Mac Jones 15th overall?

Well, it’ll probably be a while. Which is…fine.

We’ve known since the selection was made that the goal was for Jones to compete and learn under Cam Newton’s wing, a Foxborough-centric version of the Aaron Rodgers model (with, ahem, a bit more uncertainty under center than even Brett Favre could provide).

According to those assessing Jones’ talents and Newton’s hold on the starting job, it could be a long while before a swap is considered.

An anonymous NFL talent evaluator claimed this week that Newton is “entrenched” in his role, even after a difficult 2020 from all angles.

In other words, don’t be screaming for Jones while a Newton Week 2 knuckler is still in the air.

When will Mac Jones take over the Patriots QB position from Cam Newton? Well…

According to an evaluator who spoke to The Athletic (subscription required), and was then aggregated by WEEI:

"“I don’t think Mac Jones sees the field for a while,” the evaluator told The Athletic in its 2021 NFL Draft: Execs Unfiltered report.“I’ll have a better feel when we see the schedule, when the bye falls, when their division games are, when the Tampa game is, those things. Is he starting by November? No, he’s not. Because Cam wasn’t bad early in the year and they really should have won more of those games, and he just wasn’t the same after getting COVID. I think Cam is going to be entrenched there for a little bit.”"

This wasn’t a consensus opinion; another talent evaluator thought Jones would be starting by Week 6.

“Mac Jones is here,” indeed.

The question here boils down to: How much do you believe in Newton’s offseason workouts?

Clearly, the Patriots’ plan is to start Newton this season, but not long-term. They will ride the veteran and former MVP until his arm falls off. Unfortunately, based on what we saw in 2020, that time may come sooner rather than later.

Now, the real question arises: if Newton is injured or ineffective quickly, how comfortable will the Patriots be to pull the trigger on Jones? Or will Jarrett Stidham come first again?

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