FOXBORO, Mass. — Before taking his first live snap as a member of the New England Patriots, Mac Jones sought Cam Newton’s advice.
Jones and Newton currently are locked in a competitive battle for the Patriots’ starting quarterback job. But the veteran said he was happy to assist his young counterpart.
After New England opened the preseason with a 22-13 win over the Washington Football Team on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, Newton praised Jones, raving about the rookie’s preparation and attentiveness.
“For him to come out there, I know he came to me and talked to me, and we talked it out about just his expectation,” Newton said. “Every young quarterback goes through it, the excitement, the anticipation. He wants to be so perfect, and I see his preparation is always pristine. That’s what I admire about him — being at such a young age, he knows how to prepare and knows when (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) asks quick questions or when a person asks quick questions, he knows how to kind of have answers for it.
“Everybody is different. Everybody learns different. But for him and today’s performance, he’s just going to keep getting better, and we’re going to be here for each other along this whole process. That’s what we’re here for.”
Though many Patriots players have commented on Jones’ confidence and “swagger” since he joined the team this spring, Newton said he sometimes needs to push the 22-year-old to lighten up around the facility, attempting to crack what he called “the Da Vinci Code of (his) seriousness.”
“He got a lot of — I’m not going to say it, but yeah, he’s serious sometimes for no reason,” Newton said.
Newton and Jones shared quarterbacking duties against Washington, with the former leading New England’s first two offensive series and the latter taking the next five. (Third-stringer Brian Hoyer played the entire fourth quarter.)
Jones relied mostly on short and intermediate passes in his first taste of NFL action, finishing 13-of-19 for 87 yards (4.6 per attempt). Ten of his completions came on throws to wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson (six for 39 yards) or running back J.J. Taylor (four for 26 yards) and all 13 gained fewer than 15 yards.
One of Jones’ best passes of the night was a would-be 34-yard touchdown to Wilkerson that slipped through the wideout’s hands.
Newton, New England’s primary starter last season, went 4-for-7 for 49 yards, connecting with Jakobi Meyers (11 yards), Jonnu Smith (16), James White (17) and White again (5) on a drive that culminated in a Quinn Nordin field goal.
New England’s QB competition will continue in a new setting next week, with the Patriots traveling to Philadelphia for a set of joint practices with the Eagles.
