A day after Alabama officially named its next starting quarterback, its previous one appears to be in line for a starting role as well. The New England Patriots released Cam Newton on Tuesday morning, clearing the way for former Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones to take the starting job to begin his rookie season.
Jones was selected No. 15 overall by the Patriots in this year’s NFL Draft after putting together a record-breaking season at Alabama. The Davey O’Brien Award winner set a single-season school record with 4,500 passing yards and threw for 43 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He also set NCAA single-season records for completion percentage (77.4) and passer rating (203.06).
Jones carried over that success into the preseason, completing 36 of 52 (69.2 percent) passes for 389 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions over three games. His 36 completions led all rookie quarterbacks this preseason while his 92.2 grade from Pro Football Focus is the highest preseason mark by a rookie quarterback in the history of the service.
“I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities to play and I can improve on everything I want to improve on,” Jones said following New England’s game against the New York Giants on Sunday via the Boston Globe. “So I think just learning from [Brian] Hoyer, Cam, Jarrett [Stidham], anyone 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. But, honestly, the only thing that matters is today.”
Later Tuesday, a few of Jones' former Alabama teammates weighed in on the big news.
Left tackle Evan Neal: “That’s awesome, man. I’m extremely happy for that guy, especially knowing the type of hard worker that he is, how he approaches the game every day. It’s more than well deserved. The Patriots are definitely going to have a great quarterback on their hands. I’m definitely proud of him.”
Inside linebacker Christian Harris: “I know a lot of people say that Mac has a swagger that not a lot of people know he has and he definitely does. You can see it every day. Just the way he approaches the game, the amount of fun he has with it — him being here kinda showed us a way to make sure we’re working hard but still having fun at the same time and where it can get you. I think he’s done a really great job and I’m excited to see what he does.”
Outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr.: “I’m happy for him. I think he deserves it. He works hard. He puts football first. Football is most definitely important to him. I think I’ve seen this coming. Most definitely happy for him and hope he does great in the league.”
Barring an unforeseen circumstance, Jones’ first start will come against his former teammate, Tua Tagovailoa, as the Patriots host the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12. Jones and Tagovailoa are two of three former Alabama quarterbacks who could hold starting jobs in the NFL as Jalen Hurts is in competition for the Eagles starting role as well. Hurts, Tagovailoa and Jones all played at Alabama during the 2017 and 2018 seasons in what is arguably one of the most talented quarterback rooms in college football history.
