With most teams already naming a starting quarterback, the New England Patriots are still in the midst of figuring out who will line up under center in Week 1. According to the latest NFL rumors, Bill Belichick has yet to name Mac Jones or Cam Newton the starting quarterback. In other news, former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer is in hot water for his high school coaching.
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NFL Rumors: Mac Jones, Cam Newton, Trent Dilfer
Bill Belichick Doesn’t Name Starting Quarterback
After going 7-9 in 2020, the New England Patriots have no intention of missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The team went absolutely wild in free agency and selected quarterback Mac Jones in the first round of the NFL Draft. Jones has been everything New England could have hoped for in the preseason, but Cam Newton has seen all of the reps with the first-team offense.
When asked if he had decided on the Week 1 starter, head coach Bill Belichick said “no”, while adding the Patriots “still have a lot of decisions to make”. Newton went 2-5 for 10 yards and an interception in the preseason finale, but that one interception should have been a massive completion on third and long. Jones, meanwhile, went 10-14 for 156 yards while working with the second-team offense.
This was a dart I don’t care what y’all say @CameronNewton pic.twitter.com/HMfq4381fR
— Sara Marshall (@smarshxo) August 30, 2021
Jones will be under center sooner or later, but Newton remains the odds-on favorite to start in Week 1. The quarterback has worked exclusively with the backups in the preseason, and that simply wouldn’t happen if Belichick planned on starting him in the season opener. For the time being, this is Newton’s show.
Trent Dilfer Faces Scrutiny For Viral Clip
Longtime NFL veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer is facing some national scrutiny after a video emerged of him shoving and yelling at a high school football player. Dilfer, the current head coach of Lipscomb Academy, is shown grabbing the player, moving him backward, shoving, and then screaming at the kid. Needless to say, this is unacceptable conduct, and Dilfer has released a statement saying as much.
“I want to address the incident on our sideline during Friday night’s game versus Independence that has drawn a lot of attention. First and foremost, I take full responsibility as the head coach and leader of our team for not deescalating an emotional situation with one of our players, Beau Dawson. Beau is one of our finest student-athletes and embodies all the characteristics we are looking for in our Mustang players. Beau plays the game with the right kind of passion and is an inspiration to our other players. During a moment of frustration in an attempt to get our team to play with more discipline, I unfairly singled Beau out. Somehow Beau Down has been portrayed publicly as the culprit in this situation when in reality I should have been a better leader and shown greater wisdom and discernment in how I handled this incident. Overall, I could not be more proud of Beau and the rest of our team for how they handle the emotional nature of each game they compete in.”
Dilfer, of course, is best known for his 13 years in the NFL. Playing with five different franchises, Dilfer finished his career completing 55.5% of his passes for 20,518 yards, 113 touchdowns, and 124 interceptions. He helped guide the 2000 Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl, although he was really just along for the ride.
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