Cam Newton and his recent release sent shockwaves across the league today. And former Patriots TE Jermaine Wiggins is disappointed, to say the least.
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Hours ahead of today’s roster cut deadline, the Patriots released QB Cam Newton, with all signs pointing towards rookie Mac Jones taking the starting job.
Cam Newton’s release was definitely a big surprise. Despite a bad season as a passer, Bill Belichick and the Patriots renamed Cam Newton as the team’s starter ahead of training camp for 2021. But after 3 weeks of preseason where Mac Jones clearly established that his style of play suits Josh McDaniels offense better, the 15th overall pick might have really made an impression on Bill Belichick.
Jermaine Wiggins blasts Patriots for cutting Cam Newton.
On Wednesday, former Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins appeared on Early Edition and called the move “a huge mistake” and one that could get ugly.
“I think it’s a huge mistake and it has the potential to be really ugly,” Wiggins said. “The fact that you’re handing the keys to your organization to a rookie, on a team that we all expected based on what they did in the offseason has got to be a playoff-caliber football team. Every rookie quarterback is going to deal with growing pains, is going to deal with, you know what, now I’m in the NFL, it’s no longer preseason. They’re the disguising coverages, they’re blitzing, they’re doing all types of things that I’ve never seen before. And it’s just gonna take time for Mac to see certain things.
“And guess what? The time that it might take might be the difference between wins and losses, and the pressure that you’re putting on this kid, on a team that is expected to make the postseason based on the players that they have in that locker room. If he comes out and he plays bad, you don’t think all eyes are gonna be on him in the media? And there might be some guys in that locker room going, well, did you make the right decision? Did we rush this kid in too early to play?”
Bill Belichick going back on his work as Cam Newton being a starter was probably a sign for future events. Both QBs performed well in New England’s second preseason matchup against Philadelphia on Thursday. Newton completed 8-of-9 passes for 103 yards with a touchdown. Jones finished 13-of-19 for 146 yards, leading three scoring drives.
But the third matchup against the Giants might have tipped the scales in Jones’ favour. The rookie threw an impressive 10 for 14, for 156 yards and a score. Newton on the other hand went 2/5 with no scores and 1 interception.
