Today marked the first day of the New England Patriots mandatory minicamp, which also means it’s the first day of the so-called quarterback battle between former NFL MVP Cam Newton and former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
A majority of Patriots fans would likely say that there isn’t a quarterback battle. In fact, most of the fans that are confident Newton will be the Week 1 starter likely also believe Jones will be doomed to the sidelines for his entire rookie year. Nothing against the rookie, just typical Bill Belichick protocol.
Numerous reporters that were present at today’s minicamp claim Jones actually performed very well, and beat Newton in some drills.
One of the factors in today’s practice was the weather, which was reportedly some pretty heavy rain.
At a rainy Patriots practice, one of the things I watched was QBs and how they handled it. I am not a scout, but took note that Mac Jones seemed to mostly show command in that area, whereas the other QBs had some balls sail on them. Plenty of inclement weather when playing in NE.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 14, 2021
The video below shows the different throws made in the rain between Jones and Newton.
The Patriots QB competition commences on day one of mandatory minicamp. Looking like Mac Jones had a slight edge over Cam Newton in terms of accuracy with the rain coming down. pic.twitter.com/m9sM73Menm
— Patriots on NBCSB (@NBCSPatriots) June 14, 2021
Roll Tide Wire will continue to publish updates on Jones as he prepares for his rookie season in the NFL with the New England Patriots.
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