FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cam Newton and Julian Edelman are in the early stages of developing a connection with the New England Patriots, which is reflected when they’ve moved to a side field to work together in recent training camp practices.
Edelman took a humorous step in showing how they are coming together Tuesday, tweeting a picture of them as Superman (Newton) and Batman (Edelman).
“The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming…” pic.twitter.com/LbsSkqoGok
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) August 25, 2020
“We’re still trying to get to know each other. Just like I am with all my new teammates, but specifically with a guy that distributes the football, just kind of getting to know each other as people on the field, off the field. Trying to build a rapport,” Edelman said this week, adding that he’s done the same thing with quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, so he now has “to catch up with Cam.”
Newton’s approach has energized Edelman, who previously referred to his “charming personality” while noting how his work ethic and confidence generates “a vibe that can feel you and get you in a mindset.” It’s an approach that also has Newton in the driver’s seat to become the Patriots’ top quarterback, replacing Tom Brady — one of Edelman’s closest friends.
After splitting repetitions evenly with veteran Hoyer and Stidham through the first four practices of training camp, Newton has been thrust into a leading role in each of the past four workouts.
The turning point came when Stidham visited a Boston hospital for tests on his leg last Thursday. While the tests came back negative, Stidham’s workload has been notably reduced since that point.
CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said he and other Black NFL players were discriminated against because of their race during an offseason workout.
On Monday, Dunlap recalled an instance in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he and a group of Black players were asked by a park ranger to cease the workout and leave while a group of white NFL players were allowed to continue their drills.
“It was appalling to us and it was very frustrating and it was something that almost made me act out of character,” Dunlap told reporters on Monday.
Dunlap said the incident occurred in late June, one month after George Floyd, who is Black, was killed in Minneapolis in late May when a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than 7 minutes.
According to Dunlap, the two groups of NFL players were separated by two fields. A group of young soccer players, which was comprised of mixed ethnicities, was asked to stop. Dunlap said the Black players were “asked to get off the field aggressively as well.” The park ranger, according to Dunlap, allowed the white group to finish its workout.
“We asked them, why did you demand that we leave the field and go to another field when we explained that we were almost done, literally five to 10 minutes, versus the other group that was able to finish the workout,” Dunlap said. “And he pretty much watched and damn-near cheered them on.”
The Fort Lauderdale parks and recreation department, which oversees the park rangers, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The NFL is working Sunday to assess a series of positive COVID-19 results that have all been traced to the same laboratory in New Jersey, raising concerns about the efficacy of the testing program established to minimize spread of the disease.
“Saturday’s daily COVID testing returned several positives tests from each of the clubs serviced by the same laboratory in New Jersey,” the NFL said in a statement Sunday morning. “We are working with our testing partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.”
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters that at least 10 teams were affected.
The Chicago Bears announced they received nine positive results from their Saturday test regimen. All nine were determined to be false positive results, meaning none were actual indications of infection. The Bears moved back their morning practice to Sunday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution” while they sorted through them.