We may have three Alabama football quarterbacks starting soon
Mac Jones had to wait for years before starting for Alabama football. In New England, he may not have to wait a single week of the regular season.
Ever since the Patriots drafted Mac Jones, fans have wondered when he would get the starting job. We’ve speculated that Jones would have to wait a few weeks before earning the job over Cam Newton, New England’s returning starter.
However, he’s been given a unique opportunity to prove himself in training camp. Cam Newton has to sit out for five days due to a misunderstanding with COVID testing and travel. He is not allowed to even attend practices.
This gives Mac Jones a chance to show what he can do as the team’s starter. Newton won’t be looking over Jones’s shoulder. Jones won’t have to split reps. He will be the sole guy at practice until Newton is able to return.
According to camp reports, Jones has taken this opportunity and ran with it. The Patriots are having a joint practice with the New York Giants, and Jones torched New York’s starters. He went 35-for-40 on the day and completed 18 straight passes. Reporters at the practice are saying that he looks like an NFL starting quarterback, which is about as high of praise as you can receive as a rookie in a competition.
Will this one day be enough for Jones to win the starting job? Probably not. Still, it’s a step in the right direction. He’s played well in the preseason. If he can put it all together with one great final performance this weekend, he has a chance to take over the starting job before New England starts the regular season.
If he were to start in New England’s opener, he would face off against his former Alabama football teammate Tua Tagovailoa. Jones filled in for Tagovailoa when he went down with an injury, and they will likely play each other a lot over the years. The Dolphins and Pats are in the same division, promising two matchups per season.
We’ll see if Jones can win the starting job, but he’s a lot closer to winning the job now than he was yesterday. He could be the third Alabama football quarterback to win a starting job this season behind Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts.