Bill Belichick won’t publicly name Cam Newton as Patriots starting quarterback

On Thursday night, the news broke that Bill Belichick named Cam Newton the Patriots starting quarterback during a team meeting. The announcement came on the same day that the veteran was also named a team captain.

On Friday morning, however, Belichick said he wouldn’t confirm the news or publically announce the starting quarterback or any starting position on this 2020 Patriots team.

"We’re not naming any starters at any positions," Belichick said. "So, any [...]

On Thursday night, the news broke that Bill Belichick named Cam Newton the Patriots starting quarterback during a team meeting. The announcement came on the same day that the veteran was also named a team captain.

On Friday morning, however, Belichick said he wouldn’t confirm the news or publically announce the starting quarterback or any starting position on this 2020 Patriots team.

"We’re not naming any starters at any positions," Belichick said. "So, any conversations that I have with the team will stay between me and the team. But we’re not naming any roster starters or positions or who’s on the team or anything else like that. So, sorry, I’m going to have to bypass that one."

It’s possible that this is a part of Belichick’s strategy heading into Week 1. If the team doesn’t name a starting quarterback, the Miami Dolphins could be forced to put some time into watching film on quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham. Of course, the offense would look a lot different if run by Newton compared to Hoyer.

With Newton, teams have to worry about run-pass options and run fakes turned into quarterback keepers. It wouldn’t be that way if Hoyer, a pocket passer, was starting.

Of course, by now, we all know Newton will be the starter. After all, there’s a reason he was named a captain on Thursday. The 31-year-old also looked like the best quarterback in training camp and plus, he’s healthy.

"He’s certainly been a durable player," Belichick said. "The injury last year was one of those kind of foot/ankle injuries that you’re seeing take down players. It’s a tough injury. But so far I’d say he’s been out there — with the exception of one day where he was excused for personal reasons — he’s been out there every day. He’s been able to participate in everything. So, he’s healthy. Looks like he’s ready to go. But, it’s a long season, anything could happen to anybody. We all know that. So we’ll see how it goes."

It’s rare to see a first-year Patriot named as a team captain and the players voting Newton in shows how well the quarterback has acclimated to New England.

"The captains are voted on by the team," Belichick said. "And the players that they elected are the players that they obviously want to represent them in various capacities that come with those positions. I think we have a lot of good leaders on our team… We’ve had a long history and a great roster of captains here. I think that the players that were selected this year have all displayed very impressive leadership qualities… I think they’re all good selections."

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ