Bill Belichick: Cam Newton is our starter, but everyone must restore their positions

A day after the Patriots drafted Mac Jones in the first round, their head coach Bill Belichick said Cam Newton is “our quarterback” and the team will see if Jones or Jarrett Stidham challenge him for the role.

Back surgery put Stidham out of the race and Jones did nothing to change Belichick’s mind about the pecking order. He was asked at a press conference on Saturday about a starter’s appointment schedule and responded by calling Newton “our starting quarterback.”

In a follow-up question, a reporter asked how this matched Belichick’s statement this week that everyone is starting from scratch in training camp.

“Yes that’s right, everyone is starting from scratch,” Belichick said. “Again we all need to get well and that goes for a lot of other players that you could name as well, I’m sure in your mind you think they are newbies, and maybe they are. newbies and they will probably be newbies, but they all need to get their positions back. It’s general for the whole team. It’s not just about one person or one position.

Newton has plenty of training time and three preseason games to recover as a New England starter. If he can, Jones will start his NFL career off the bench.