QB Notes: Patriots, Dak, Brady, Rosen

Shortly after the draft, Bill Belichick noted Cam Newton was the Patriots‘starter and Mac Jones would develop behind him. During more than two weeks of training camp, a competition could be prepared. The gap between Newton and Jones has narrowed, notes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. It’s uncertain whether Jones can mount a legitimate charge to topple Newton for Week 1, but modern NFL history – apart from the Packers’ plans – indicates that transition will happen this season. Newton never played a backup role as a pro, so it would be interesting to see how the Patriots would proceed if Jones beat him. If Jones does end up winning the job, Belichick giving Newton the choice to stay with the Patriots or be released wouldn’t surprise Reiss. New England re-signed Brian hoyer this offseason and has Jarrett stidham on his list.

Here is the latest news from the league quarterback:

• the Cowboys are careful with Dak prescottinjured his shoulder, but good news continues to emerge for the sixth-year quarterback. After a bizarre update from the Cowboys Twitter account indicating that Prescott would be undergoing a second MRI, Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill notes that the exam took place on Saturday and revealed progress. Dak’s diseased shoulder heals as expected (Twitter link). Prescott pitched ahead of the Cowboys’ second preseason game this weekend and had no pain doing so, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link). Prescott is likely to return to training this week, and Rapoport notes that playing in a preseason game is on the table. It doesn’t seem, at this point, that Cowboys fans should be worried about Dak missing Week 1.
• Kyle shanahan said recently Josh Rosen had a downward trend. The former choice of the top 10, which is running for 49ersChannel 3’s work, taken a few steps back in recent practice, by Shanahan (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). In Rosen’s preseason debut with the team, he completed 10 of 15 passes for 93 yards but threw an interception. Asked after the game about Shanahan’s criticism, Rosen said he doesn’t get many training reps in the first place, per Branch, who adds that Rosen is unlikely to have gained ground in his competition with Nate sudfeld to be part of the 53-player squad. Sudfeld did not play in the 49ers’ opener of preseason. The 49ers guarding the two, with the competition loser on the practice squad, are on the line. But Rosen losing that battle would represent another setback in a professional career filled with them.
• As you have surely heard in recent years, Tom brady wants to play until 45 years old. The future Hall of Famer in the first round recently signed a Buccaneers extension that runs through 2022, and longtime coach Alex Guerrero said during an appearance on the Adam Schefter podcast (via Boston.com) that his client is not expected to retire after this season. Guerrero said Brady playing beyond 2022 wouldn’t be surprising. Brady has kept that door open, although the 44-year-old quarterback has not made a commitment to play beyond next season.