1. Now that the Patriots have added Mac Jones to the quarterbacks room, the question is now when will he get to start games? As of now, it would seem Cam Newton will be the Week 1 starter, but if that is the case when would Jones take over? Looking at the schedule, there is not a logical transition point. Last year in Miami things lined up perfectly with an early bye week for Tua Tagovailoa to take over for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Patriots do not have that luxury with the Week 14 bye week. Another issue is Newton’s popularity in the locker room. How will some members of the team take Newton getting demoted and a rookie take over? Sure, he’s the No. 15 overall pick, but Newton is a former MVP and one of the more popular players league-wide. This appeared to be one of the reasons why Newton started the entire season last year when Jarrett Stidham was waiting for his chance. It will be very interesting to see how Bill Belichick handles the quarterback position this summer, as it almost feels like if Jones is going to start any games in 2021, it might as well be Week 1 to set the tone and not force a transition at some point during the season.
2. One thing that is worth pointing out in regards to Jones potentially taking over for Newton during the year is the Patriots do have a soft stretch in terms of opposing defenses in the middle of the season. According to Warren Sharp, in Weeks 5-12, they face a number of poor passing defenses from a year ago, including the Texans, Cowboys, Jets, Panthers, Browns and Titans. Sharp notes it is the easiest stretch for any quarterback next season.
3. While it seems very unlikely to actually happen, what if Stidham performs better than Newton or Jones during training camp? What would Belichick do then? Andy Hart raised this on The Off Day podcast this week and again, it likely won’t happen, but it obviously could. Newton could continue to struggle to throw the ball and Jones could take awhile to learn the offense. The quarterback battle will be the No. 1 storyline during training camp and it would be fascinating if that’s how it played out.
4. Yes, the Patriots only have three national television games in 2021, but it’s worth keeping in mind that can change because of flex scheduling. It seems the league is a little wary of them following 2020, but there are a few opportunities for games to be flexed into Sunday Night Football. Some options include the Week 10 game against the Browns, Week 12 against the Titans and Week 16 against the Bills.
5. Unlike last season when the Patriots and Buccaneers barely played any games at the same time, excluding when they play each other, the Patriots and Tom Brady will play at the same time seven weeks during the season -- Oct. 10, Oct. 31, Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Dec. 26, Jan. 2, Jan. 9. This is more about the Patriots’ lack of primetime games and nothing to do with the Bucs.
6. It is a little surprising the Patriots still have upwards of $15 million in cap space. Obviously some of that will be to sign the rookie class, but there still will be plenty leftover. They don’t have to spend it this year, either, as they could roll it over to next year and be aggressive for the second straight year in free agency.
7. The media will get a chance to see the Patriots on the field in just a few short weeks. It will be permitted to watch three OTA sessions — May 17, June 4 and June 10 — and then the full mandatory minicamp, which is scheduled for June 14-16. The major storyline will obviously be the quarterback position and how things look with Jones and Newton.