Cam Newton says Mac Jones didn’t beat him out for starting job, and other things we learned in new video

1. Newton does not believe the COVID testing “misunderstanding” altered the team’s decision.

“Do I think this would have happened without me being away from the team for five days?” he asked. “Honestly, yes. It was going to happen. Did it help ease the decision? Yes.”

In the final week of training camp, Newton left the New England area for a team-approved appointment to visit the Atlanta doctor who had originally diagnosed the Lisfranc fracture he suffered in his left foot in 2019. He said he was not experiencing any pain or problems, but he wanted to get a second opinion on his recovery.

Had he known that he would have to sit out five days upon his return, he would not have gone.

According to the statement released by the team, there was a “misunderstanding” involving COVID tests away from the facility. Because Newton is unvaccinated, he was subject to the NFL’s five-day reentry cadence process, forcing him to miss three practices.

“To find out I had to sit out, that’s when I kind of felt bamboozled because [the Patriots] told me to go,” Newton said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Cam, if you go, you’re taking it up on your own risk now.’ It wasn’t that.”

Newton said he does not believe his vaccination status played a role in his release, which lines up with Bill Belichick’s comments on the matter.

2. Newton was surprised that he was released, but he could sense something was changing.

During practices, even though Newton led off every team drill and started each preseason game, he estimated he got two reps to Jones’s 10.

“Even though I was starting, that doesn’t necessarily mean nothing,” he said. “That’s where they did a good job of disguising it.”

While Newton started noticing signs of change, he also noted nothing changed in terms of how the team treated him. He thought he fared well in the preseason, but explained how his skill set, particularly his ability to run the ball, could not really shine during that time.

Newton played 39 snaps in the preseason, completing 14 of his 21 passes for 162 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He did not log any rushes.

“There were times I felt I could have scrambled, but I’m saving myself for the season,” he said.

3. Newton pushed back heavily on the notion that Jones was teaching him the playbook.

Former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich recently raised the idea on his podcast.

“What can Mac teach me?” Newton said. “What can he teach me when it’s coming at him faster than it was coming at me?”

Newton maintained that there was a collaborative environment within the quarterback room, something he and the rest of the quarterbacks had said all training camp. He did acknowledge that learning New England’s offense was initially a big adjustment because of the way the Patriots operate their system, saying “30 of 32 teams don’t run this philosophy.”

Still, Newton had nothing but positive remarks for Jones, and expressed the utmost confidence in the rookie’s ability to succeed.

“They’re going to win football games with Mac Jones,” he said. “Mac is good enough. I think when they picked him [in the draft], they wanted to find out a couple of things, but one of the things they wanted to find out is, ‘Is he capable of leading this offense to be productive?’ ”

Newton added later: “[Mac] is a well-deserving player. He did do what he came to do. He proved that he can be productive, and he will be productive.”

4. Newton said he would have accepted a backup role, but he believes he was released because he was “going to be a distraction.”

“Can we be honest?” Newton said. “The reason why they released me is because, indirectly, I was going to be a distraction, without being the starter.

“Just my aura. That’s my gift and my curse. When you bring a Cam Newton to your facility, when you bring a Cam Newton to your franchise, people are interested by the mere fact of, ‘Who is he? Why does he wear his hair? Why does he talk? Why does he act? Why does he perform?’ All these questions.”

Newton believes he could have had success as a starter — his father says the Patriots would have gone 5-0 to open the season — but he also made it clear he would have been fine being the second-string quarterback, assisting Jones through his rookie season.

However, Newton said, Jones “would have been uncomfortable,” if he were his backup.

“Mac Jones didn’t beat me out,” Newton said. “But I would’ve been a distraction. If they would have given him the starting role, they knew the perception it would have had, if the success didn’t come.”

As for the possibility that the Patriots begin the season with Newton as the starter and allow him to show what he can do in three or four games before reevaluating? Newton shook his head.

“They ain’t going for that,” he said.

5. Newton described the day he was released.

His assistant dropped him off at the facility around 8 a.m. ahead of a 10 a.m. team meeting. But about 10 minutes after getting dropped off, Newton texted his assistant to come back and pick him up because he had been released.

“I walked in, and they were like, ‘Oh hold on, Cam, Cam, Cam,’ ” Newton recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yes?’ ‘Bill wants to meet with you.’ I’m like, ‘OK, cool, but Bill’s office is down here.’ They were like, ‘Oh no, he’s in here.’ That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I see what’s going on.’ ”

Belichick and senior football adviser Matt Patricia were in the room.

“At that time, they told me they were going to give the reins to Mac,” Newton said. “It did not dawn on me, like, ‘Y’all releasing me?’ I was confused. I mean, we all were shocked. It was all uncomfortable for everybody.”

His father shared his disdain for the decision.

“It was a dirty move,” Cecil Sr. said. “It was a sucker move.”

6. Newton is not retiring.

Newton is 32 and remains unsigned, but he made it clear he does not believe his football career is over. His father had some advice about signing with another team.

“I would be very selective on what that next opportunity offers,” Cecil Sr. said. “I would get clarity on who the head coach is, how stable and impactful he is, who the GMs and owners are. Because if you’re coming in and working hard — and I applaud you for coming in at 6 a.m. and doing all the things right — and look at what it yielded.”

Said Newton: “You come in at 5 a.m., they say, ‘You ain’t come in early enough.’ You stay til 9, they say, ‘It was time wasted.’ They see you working out, they say, ‘Well, you need to be focused on the playbook.’ You focus on the playbook, they say, ‘Well, you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why you’re in your playbook.’ You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”