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Rob Ninkovich’s ‘playbook’ comment didn’t sit well with Cam Newton

Rob Ninkovich made a bold claim by reporting that Mac Jones was teaching Cam Newton the New England Patriots’ playbook.

It sounded difficult to believe considering Newton’s time with the Patriots in 2020 and Jones’ focus on learning the playbook himself ahead of his rookie year. Newton, in a tell-all video that was released on Friday, discussed a slew of different topics following his time with the team — including Ninkovich’s report.

Newton’s father, Cecil, asked him if Jones was teaching him.

“No,” Newton said, transcribed by NESN’s Zack Cox. “How can he teach me?”

Newton began by running through the speculation and rumors that spread through the entirety of last year and this offseason.

“Take it for what it’s worth. I didn’t play good last year. I was inaccurate. I didn’t know the playbook. They had to dumb it down. Cam and Josh weren’t meshing. Bill (Belichick) didn’t like Cam. Whatever. Whatever a pundit may say. But what can Mac teach me? That’s what I’m trying to (say). Come on now. … And I like (Jones).”

He did admit the playbook was different than what he was used to, but Jones wasn’t the one teaching him it.

“Nah. If anything, I was — I was like, ‘Josh, it’s so new to me.’ I’ve never been in a system that required me to know where the Mike (linebacker) is, to know the front, to identify certain fronts and XYZ,” Newton said. “You can’t say that that’s stupid or ‘Why wouldn’t you know that?’ because half of the NFL — I would say 30 teams out of 32 teams don’t run this philosophy. It’s in the center’s call, because they control the protection, and if you have any type of red flag or an alert, then that’s when you kind of (say), ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, Lucy this. Ricky to 50.’ You know what I’m saying? Something like that.

“But as far as that? No. Mac was cool, man. He was a person who was young. He was still trying to find his way. And that’s why I would just say what can he teach me when it’s coming at him faster than it was coming at me? I would always ask Mac, and we were helping each other. It’s like, ‘You straight, bro?’ And I would go to (Brian Hoyer) and be like, ‘Bro, you seeing something that I didn’t see?’ or ‘What was the Mike?’ or XYZ. And then me and Josh had a great dialogue after practice or during practice where he would tell me. But I felt heads and toes above where I was understanding (the offense) 12 months ago. Without a doubt.”

Newton, 32, is now a free agent in search of his next team.

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