The team knew they needed to find some young help to develop at the position and ended up trading up to the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to grab the Alabama product Jones. They found some help when they picked up former league MVP and recently released Newton, but the 2020 season was a disappointment for the Patriots and Newton. Many believed that Newton, being the veteran of the two, would end up starting while Jones eased into the role, but the team has seen enough this training camp and preseason to go with the first rounder Jones.Īfter Tom Brady moved onto Tampa Bay last offseason, the Patriots were at a loss for the quarterback position. It's not happening.In a surprise development, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have released Cam Newton and will put all their chips in on rookie quarterback Mac Jones, per the Boston Globe. But this is the NFL, not a Hollywood script. While there might not be a 'franchise quarterback' on the roster, the QB room is a significant upgrade from what Washington had last season.Ī reunion between Rivera and Newton would be a good movie ending. If Newton were to enter the mix, a lot of the down-the-field plays would have to be scrapped once again when he's on the field.įitzpatrick will be Washington's starter in Week 1, with Taylor Heinicke as the backup. That was a foreign concept for Washington last season with Haskins and Alex Smith under center. That can't be said about Fitzpatrick, who even has a bit of mobility in his game, too.įitzpatrick's arrival in Washington should allow Turner to open up the playbook, especially dialing up big plays down the field. At this point in his career with multiple shoulder surgeries under his belt, Newton is more effective as a runner than a passer. Newton's skill set is far different than his. Yes, he's played for offensive coordinator Scott Turner before and likely has an understanding of the concepts that Turner wants to run.īut, all offseason Turner has been installing an offense designed for Fitzpatrick under center. Hypothetically, if Washington were to sign Newton, it would take a few weeks, at the minimum, for him to get acclimated in the system. In fact, the veteran's recent success with Miami had Rivera say in June that "there’s nothing that says Ryan Fitzpatrick can’t be the guy for a while." Yes, Newton is still an effective rusher - evident by his 12 scores on the ground last season - but has still accounted for nine fewer six-pointers over that span than Fitzpatrick. In Newton's last 16 starts, he's thrown for 2,990 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 picks. He's also added two scores with his legs. Over his last 16 starts, Fitzpatrick has thrown for 4,414 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. While Fitzpatrick is six and a half years older than Newton, he's been the quarterback who's played better football as of late. When the whole Stafford deal went and a couple other things happened, we felt we wanted to get a guy in here that has the experience and can help us going forward and can help us develop." "But Ryan was always in that conversation. "It’s no secret we tried to do a couple things early," Rivera said in April. Washington ended up signing Ryan Fitzpatrick in free agency, a player Rivera has said was high on the team's priority list after they were unable to trade for Matthew Stafford. If the veteran figured he'd have any interest from Washington - or any other team in free agency - it's hard to imagine he would have signed that one-year contract with the Patriots without testing the market. Then this past offseason, Newton was set to become a free agent once again before he re-signed with New England on a one-year deal on March 12. Last summer, Rivera and Washington opted to trade a fifth-round pick to acquire Allen over signing Newton, which would not have required the team to give any draft capital away. Yet, Washington still gave up a fifth-round pick to acquire Kyle Allen from the Panthers in March of 2020, who started 12 games for an injured Newton in 2019. Rivera's reasoning for passing on Newton last summer was that he wanted to give Dwayne Haskins, Washington's 2019 first-round pick, a full chance at being the team's starter. Yet, the veteran quarterback spent nearly three months as a free agent before he signed a one-year deal with New England in July. Two months later, Newton was released by Carolina. When Rivera inherited a 3-13 Washington team in January of 2020, the team simply did not have a franchise quarterback. Every time Washington's head coach has been asked about Newton since he arrived last season, Rivera has raved about his former quarterback. Rivera and Newton have tremendous respect for one another. ‘I Think We'll Get It to a Place Where It'll Be Approved': Goodell on Commanders Sale
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