When quarterback Cam Newton suffered a hand injury during the New England Patriots’ organized team activities last week, Mac Jones seemed to be getting a golden opportunity. But during Thursday’s session on Day 9 of OTAs, it was Jarrett Stidham — not Jones — who rose to the occasion with Newton not present.
Jones watched for most of the team’s competitive 11-on-11 reps during practice, getting fewer chances than Stidham and Brian Hoyer. While Hoyer and Stidham began to push the ball downfield with aggressive, vertical passing, Jones remained conservative with check downs. He also took a sack, one of many signals he was still very much learning the offense — and learning to read a speedy and complicated NFL defense, which featured Dont’a Hightower for his first session of voluntary offseason work.
We’ll have more on the quarterbacks — and other position groups — in today’s practice notes.