The deafening silence, the heavy news cycle and the stagnation of the electronic transaction movement, oh, it must be June for the New England Patriots.
Most would have previously referred to the month as the eye of the storm for the upcoming NFL season. July is usually the time period when players start performing for training camp, leading to a series of organized team practices, preseason games and culminating in the start of the regular season in September.
But everything is tentative right now with continued efforts to prevent the spread of disease amid the coronavirus pandemic.
That obviously has not slowed down the process for coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots preparing for an uncertain season. It may not be business as usual, but nosebleed expectations don’t change for the six-time Super Bowl champions.
Here are five takeaways for the Patriots in June.
Admit it. Some of you thought that the Patriots would have already signed Cam Newton. With that Monstrous defense on the other side of the ball, there was no way Belichick was going to compromise the team’s success by pushing second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham into place once taken over by Tom Brady, was there?
Right?
The entire month of June passed without mentioning the Patriots going in another direction as a quarterback. Top receiver Julian Edelman has already accepted the inevitable changing of the guard by tying himself to the hip of his young quarterback. The two have reportedly been inseparable working together in the off-season.
There is always a chance that Belichick will look for another quarterback to participate in more training camp competitions, but the odds of him being a former MVP like Newton are slim right now. Obviously, the Patriots like what they have at Stidham, and they seem to be willing to sink or swim with him at the helm of the ship.
The sinking isn’t all that bad with the prospect of Trevor Lawrence driving the lifeboat in the 2021 NFL Draft. You can be sure that Belichick’s heart will continue if Stidham sucks things up in 2020.
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