Don't count Cam Newton out just yet.
The Patriots quarterback was re-signed during the offseason despite an underwhelming debut campaign in New England. Even if Newton makes the team, many believe first-round pick Mac Jones has a good chance of replacing the veteran as the starting signal-caller at some point next season.
But what if Newton is great during training camp and carries the success into the regular season?
In his Sunday notes column ESPN Patriots beat reporter Mike Reiss revealed that Newton has been working with a throwing coach to improve his mechanics. Furthermore, Reiss reported that Patriots players who recently worked with Newton liked what they saw.
Check out this excerpt:
Quietly and with little fanfare, Cam Newton had been working with a throwing coach to rebuild some of his fundamentals this offseason. Some who shared a field with him this past week at voluntary Patriots workouts -- the first time players were on the field as the program shifted to its second phase -- noticed a difference. What does it mean in the big picture? The essence of the Patriots' offseason program is teaching-based, with the goal to give every player what they need so they can be in the best position to compete come training camp, so any pure evaluation is premature. But some teammates view Newton as getting off to a nice start last week.
Ultimately, Newton will have to win a quarterback competition during camp if he wants to be the Week 1 starter.
Whether he eventually prevails over Jones and Jarrett Stidham remains to be seen, though some believe it is likely. However, at this point, Newton apparently is working as if he knows nothing is guaranteed.
