New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t wait long to confirm that, yes, Cam Newton is still his starting quarterback.

In fact, Belichick made sure to include it in his opening statement less than two hours after the Patriots selected Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

“Cam [Newton]’s our quarterback,” said Belichick. “Whatever position, whatever time Jarrett [Stidham] or Mac [Jones] are ready to challenge and compete, then we’ll see how that goes. But right now, Mac, he’s just got a lot of learning in front of him.

“I know he’s very anxious to get going on it and get started and so we’ll start trying to give him material to work on and be ready for the rookie mini-camp in the second week of May, and then on to the rookie development program and so forth.”

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  Now, in addition to being under center for the National Champion Crimson Tide as the team's starting quarterback, Jones is making the NFL jump after a 2020 that saw him finish as both a First-Team All-America and All-SEC. Jones also threw for an Alabama-record 4,500 passing yards to go with 41 touchdowns (and just four interceptions) in 13 games.
  
  But Belichick stressed the daunting workload in front of the 22-year-old Jones.
  
  "We got a lot of work to do, but we're looking forward to getting with it and looking forward to working with Mac," Belichick offered. "I know he's looking forward to it. It's a big challenge. It's a long road. It's a big grind. But that's what we all signed up for. So we're excited to move in that direction, but we all have a long way to go, so we need to learn what he can do.
  
  "He needs to learn a lot about professional football and refine his fundamentals and techniques. We need to coach all the other players as well. So, again, I just see this as a big process going forward for all of us. But, again, we're anxious and excited to get it moving. We're getting closer. We're a couple weeks through the off-season program and in a couple more weeks we'll be able to start activities with the players on the field and get to rookie mini-camp and get to rookie development program and just move things further ahead. In the meantime, we'll do what we can do in other ways virtually and so forth."

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  Belichick said just about everything he could to let you know that Newton is still indeed the favorite for Week 1.
  
  But could anything change that?
  
  "I don't know. Somebody would have to play better than [Newton] does," said Belichick.
  
  Sound reasonable, to be honest.
  
  Barring a trade, the Patriots will make their first pick of Day 2 with the No. 46 overall pick.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.

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