Bill Belichick breaks his silence over Patriots releasing Cam Newton
By Josh Hill
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke to the media and commented on the release of Cam Newton.
The final day of preseason roster cuts in the NFL usually isn’t as notable as it was this year.
That’s because a former MVP isn’t among the players being tossed to the heap. Cam Newton was cut by the New England Patriots on Tuesday, ending his time with the team after just one season and officially beginning the Mac Jones era.
Questions linger as to why the decision was made. Newton is a starting-caliber quarterback in the eyes of some, but he’s absolutely worth a roster spot given his talent and track record in the NFL.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick broke his silence on Wednesday, speaking to the media about the release and reiterating a few points he wants to have clarified as every talking head speculates about why Newton was cut.
“I’m not gonna go through all the different things with any player on that. We’ll just leave it the way it is and go from there,” Belichick said on Wednesday when speaking to the media about the final roster cuts.
The Patriots coach refused to answer a question on whether or not the three days Newton had to spend away from the team due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol helped Jones win the starting job.
“I don’t know,” Belichick growled.
One thing Belichick did speak on was whether or not Newton’s vaccination status factored into him being released in the last batch of roster cuts.
“No. You guys keep talking about that, and I would just point out that … the number of players and coaches, and staff members that have been affected by COVID in this training camp who have been vaccinated is a pretty high number. I wouldn’t lose sight of that.”
Newton will almost certainly latch on with a team before the start of the season next week, with landing spots such as Washington and Baltimore making almost too much sense to not happen.