Cam Newton seemingly made it easy for the New England Patriots to release him.
Not only did rookie Mac Jones perform well enough during the preseason to win the Patriots’ starting quarterback job and make Newton expendable. Newton basically opened the door for Jones to secure the gig by missing practice time last week due to a misunderstanding of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando asked five NFL front office executives to rank the 16 teams in the AFC ahead of the 2021 season. He also offered them an opportunity to explain their thinking, and one executive pointed to Newton’s missteps while evaluating the Patriots.