Ex-Patriot Rob Ninkovich: Mac Jones was teaching playbook to Cam Newton

Former New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich shared a story recently that is quite unflattering for Cam Newton.

On a recent edition of “The Dan and Ninko Show,” Ninkovich said he’d been told by “inside sources” that rookie quarterback Mac Jones had been helping Newton learn the playbook, as the rookie had a better understanding of it than Newton did.

“From everything that I understand now, Mac was basically helping Cam learn the playbook,” Ninkovich said. “Mac was having less mental errors and having a better understanding of the offense. We didn’t see Cam run any two-minute (drill), we didn’t see him run any no-huddle. You have to run no-huddle. That’s vital.”

If true, it adds further context behind why the Patriots opted to go with Jones instead of Newton for 2021. It’s clear that New England’s players are fully behind Jones, and that would make sense if he simply understood the offense better.

For Newton, regardless of the missed practices and other issues, a rookie shouldn’t be ahead of a veteran on this, especially when the veteran was on the team in 2020 as well. If other teams hear about this and believe it, it’s only going to further hinder his already weak free-agent market.