Cam Newton Injures Hand at OTAs; What it Means for Patriots QB Room

According to several reports, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton injured his throwing hand during an optional team activity on Friday. Newton sat out the rest of the practice session, and consulted with team doctors and teammates before leaving the field for the day.

Cam Newton appeared to hit his right hand on a helmet and spent considerable time with trainer Jim Whelan and one of the team doctors. OC Josh McDaniels checked in on Newton before continuing to work with the other 3 QBs. Newton watched the remainder of prax. #Patriots

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) June 4, 2021

Cam Newton didn’t finish practice, as an athletic trainer and doctor were looking at his right hand about halfway through the workout. Patriots QBs were working on a drill in which a soft pad is tossed at them and the pad appeared to make contact with his hand on follow-through.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 4, 2021

An X-ray was done on the quarterback’s hand and according to the Boston Herald, he did NOT break his hand. Newton will continue to undergo further testing.

According to a source, there’s “nothing broken” with Cam Newton’s injured throwing hand. But the Patriots are doing further testing.

— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) June 4, 2021

On Friday’s edition of Felger and Mazz on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Michael Felger hinted at the injury potentially being “gamekeepers thumb”, according to a source of his. Gamekeepers thumb is described as “an insufficiency of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the thumb.” This injury could require surgery and would keep Newton off the field for at least two months.

If this is the case, what would the Patriots do at quarterback moving forward? Once Newton left the practice field today, rookie quarterback Mac Jones took the first reps in 7-on-7 drills, while Jarrett Stidham took first reps in 11-on-11.

Mac Jones wore a sleeve on his right calf. Not as dialed in today as he seemed to be last week. He did lead the first team period, 7-on-7, once Newton went out.

Stidham started the 11-on-11 period later in the practice. He made the most impressive throws of the practice.

— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 4, 2021

If Newton is stuck rehabbing through the summer, he could become a cut candidate. The Patriots owe him almost nothing in guaranteed money; and with reports of Jones and Stidham putting together solid practices over the last two weeks, this certainly feels like an option.

The noise coming out of New England has sounded like Jones would be ready to start week one if he had to. They’ve been giving him the second reps behind Newton, and by all accounts he has dove straight into the playbook. Jones’ strengths are how cerebral he is and his overall sharp knowledge of the game.

During his media availability of Friday, Bill Belichick told reporters that Jones “has a pretty good understanding of the things that we do… He’s working hard and he puts in a lot of time. Certainly giving his very best effort to do everything we’ve asked him to do, which is a great place to start.” Strong words coming from the normally soft-spoken head coach.

We may be nearing an answer to the question “when will Mac Jones play?” He has continued to impress both teammates and coaches, and after the Newton injury on Friday, there’s a chance we could see a Jones-Stidham-Hoyer quarterback room this Fall.

(Photo: Eric J. Alder/Patriots.com)