Not surprised by Belichick
By STEVE KING
I had to laugh — hard — that so many of the “expert” talking heads expressed surprise, even shock, that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick waived quarterback Cam Newton during the team’s final roster cutdowns the other day in favor of rookie Mac Jones?
You’ve got to be kidding me.
They didn’t see that coming? Really?
Really?!!
You all saw it coming, didn’t you? Of course, you did. You’re Browns fans, which means you’re smart, have long memories and are not easily fooled.
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Jones played at Alabama under Nick Saban, Belichick’s good friend beginning with their days back in Cleveland together 30 years ago. You know that Saban told his buddy before the NFL Draft that Jones could play right now in the NFL. That’s all Belichick needed to hear to take him in the first round so he could begin prepping him to take over the job.
Newton is beat up, and has been for a long time. His shoulder is shot. If those talking heads couldn’t see that from the way he played last season in New England, then I feel sorry for them.
Plus, Belichick has a history of cutting veteran star quarterbacks past their prime in favor of younger guys, or guys he likes.
He did it for the first time, of course, when he was with the Browns and, with the team in first place at the halfway point of the 1993 season, he got rid of iconic Bernie Kosar in favor of Vinny Testaverde, who he signed in free agency the previous offseason. The fans nearly rioted.
Then early on in his tenure in New England, began his journey to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his reputation as possibly the greatest head coach of all-time, when he cut Drew Bledsoe in favor of a sixth-round draft pick by the name of Tom Brady. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.
So, with all that, then, you’d have to be in denial to not put all the clues together and see that Cam Newton was out and Mac Jones was in.
As such, the next time those “experts” say something, you might want to be a bit wary of it.
Browns sign 11 to practice squad
- WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
- DT Sheldon Day
- TE Jordan Franks
- DE Porter Gustin
- RB John Kelly
- LB Elijah Lee
- S Jovante Moffatt
- QB Nick Mullens
- WR JoJo Natson
- FB Johnny Stanton
- DE Curtis Weaver
Ten of the 11 players were with the Browns previously, while QB Nick Mullens spent this preseason and training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. The team has five practice squad openings remaining of its allotted 16 slots.
Mullens (6-1, 210) enters his fourth NFL season in 2021. The quarterback out of Southern Mississippi went undrafted in 2017 and signed with the San Francisco 49ers, who he played for through 2020. Mullens has played in 19 career games with 16 starts, tossing 387 completions for 4,714 yards and 25 touchdowns. His 4,405 passing yards in his first 16 NFL starts mark the second most by any quarterback in NFL history in that span, trailing only Patrick Mahomes (5,100). Mullens is a native of Birmingham, Ala.
Berea, Ohio – The Cleveland Browns have signed DE Joe Jackson. Jackson was with the team during the preseason and was waived during final roster cuts. In addition, the team has placed LB Jacob Phillips (biceps) on injured reserve*.
