After Tom Brady left in 2020, Mac Jones became the most important Patriots draft pick in Bill Belichick’s time in New England. For most of the offseason, however, it felt like Jones would start the 2021 season as a backup to veteran Cam Newton.
After all, Belichick told the media over and over again that Newton was his team’s starter.
That seemed to be the case in OTAs, minicamp, training camp and in preseason games. Newton took first-team reps and started those exhibition matchups. However, the biggest storyline for the Patriots in 2021 was the quarterback competition between Jones and Newton.