Mac Jones is the only QB left on Patriots roster, for now

Cam Newton was not the only quarterback the New England Patriots cut on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming season.

With the roster cut deadline taking place on Tuesday afternoon, the New England Patriots did not waste any time in shocking the NFL world. Earlier in the morning, the Patriots released veteran quarterback and former NFL MVP Cam Newton from his contract, paving the way for rookie Mac Jones earning the Week 1 start. As it turns out, Jones may be the only signal caller available on the depth chart.

Later in the day, the Patriots released quarterback Brian Hoyer. While the 15th overall pick is technically the only quarterback on the roster, there is an expectation that the team will bring back Hoyer.

Mac Jones technically the only quarterback on Patriots roster…for now

As Evan Lazar of CLNS Media and Mike Reiss of ESPN said in the above tweets, Hoyer’s release was more to do some roster maneuvering. Reiss says that the belief is Hoyer will be re-signed prior to the start of the season.

Jarrett Stidham, New England’s fourth-round draft pick in 2019, was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list due to a back injury which required surgery in July. With that, he will miss the first six weeks of the 2021 season.

The Patriots, after watching Tom Brady leave for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and immediately win a Super Bowl, were looking for the next franchise quarterback. While they did re-sign Newton to a one-year deal this offseason, the team watched as Jones fell right into their laps at pick No. 15 of the NFL Draft, and selected the Alabama signal caller.

Jones obviously did enough through training camp to convince head coach Bill Belichick that he is deserving of starting under center for the Patriots. Now, the team needs to have some sort of plan in place in case Jones were to go down with injury. Seemingly enough, it appears that Hoyer’s release will be short lived, and he will be back with the team on a new contract.