The New England Patriots Cut Their Starting Quarterback

It's Tuesday, August 31st, which means it's roster cutdown day across the NFL. All 32 teams must be down to 53 players on their active roster by 4 pm. By Wednesday, teams can bring back 16 players for their practice squad.

The Buffalo Bills are already busy, reportedly releasing tight end Jacob Hollister, wide receiver Tanner Gentry, and guard Jack Anderson, to name a few. It's very possible all of them are brought back for either the practice squad or the active roster after they have worked out injury situations.

But the bombshell across the NFL happened just after 10 am.

According to Tom Pelissaro of The NFL Network, the New England Patriots have released last year's starting quarterback, Cam Newton.

Newton was signed before the 2020 regular season by New England and started the vast majority of their games during the 2020 regular season. The Patriots ended up missing the postseason for the first time since 2008 and had its first losing season in 20 years.

This means that 2021 first-round draft pick Mac Jones will be the Patriots starting quarterback week 1 and beyond for New England.

The AFC East now features two rookie starting quarterbacks (Zach Wilson, Mac Jones) and one second-year pro (Tua Tagovoila).

Josh Allen is a seasoned veteran as a fourth-year pro.