The New England Patriots no longer have a quarterback competition as the team released veteran Cam Newton, opening the door for rookie Mac Jones to be the starter.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Jones earned the starting quarterback job, the release of Newton is the shocking part as the Patriots looked to cut down their roster to 53 players prior to the 4 pm EST deadline on Tuesday. The 31-year-old Newton is now a free agent and will likely get some interest (hello, Houston) because this was less about Newton's play and more about Jones.

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Jones was stellar during his three preseason games, earning the highest grade, per PFF, among all rookie quarterbacks. Quite impressive considering this crop of rookie signal-callers. Jones finished the preseason going 36-of-52 for 359 yards and a touchdown. His quick release and poise were on display from day one and seemed to force Bill Belichick's hand in this decision.

Newton finishes his career with the Patriots playing just one season. He went 7-8 and threw for 2,657 yards eight passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 572 yards on the ground and set a Patriots record, for quarterbacks, with 12 rushing touchdowns. In addition to the difficult circumstances Newton faced in his lone season, he was given the unenviable position of replacing Tom Brady and performed admirably. He will likely garner some attention from teams which, at the end of the day, may be in his best interest because once the team handed the keys to Jones, they were not going to take them away any time soon.

Jones will face his former Alabama teammate, Tua Tagovoila, in week one as the Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins.