Team news: New England Patriots

Patriots RB Damien Harris will not play Week 17 against the New York Jets, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Sony Michel and J.J. Taylor will do majority of the running, with James White the pass-catching back.

"I would imagine [Cam Newton will start]. We're going through that right now. We'll see," said HC Bill Belichick.

Related players: Jarrett Stidham

Belichick was also asked what Newton did well last night, with him saying, "I thought he did what we asked him to do." It doesn't appear the Pats are going to give Stidham much more of a chance going forward. Even being eliminated from the playoffs, the team continues to go with Newton despite him being pulled several times over the last few weeks.

The Patriots are not activating WR Julian Edelman from Injured Reserve today, which is not a surprise. And it’s unlikely that he plays next week.

As Rapoport added, Edelman’s season is almost certainly over — and at age 34, his future is uncertain, as well, the tweet went on to say. It's possible Edelman could catch on with a contender next season if he wants to keep playing, but he's obviously coming off back-to-back injury seasons as well.

Jarrett Stidham is not Plan A, B, C or D for the Patriots in 2021 as they search for a long-term answer at quarterback. That's the takeaway I have this week as Bill Belichick is reportedly set to roll with Cam Newton as his starter against Buffalo on Monday night. For the first time in what feels like forever, the Patriots are simply playing out the stretch.

After they were knocked from postseason contention last week, New England will simply be playing for pride when they take on the Buffalo Bills, who have already clinched the AFC East for the first time since 1995, the story said. This is obviously the time of year when teams evaluate talent, so based on the Pats sticking with Newton at QB, it doesn't seem to bode well for Stidham.

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton admitted he hasn't played as well as he hoped in 2020, but he said Monday that he still has "a lot of football left."

Related players: Jarrett Stidham

With the Patriots now out of the playoffs, it makes sense to see what else they have at the position. The story said coach Bill Belichick left open the possibility of giving Stidham playing time with the team out of playoff contention. Newton is a free agent after the season and plans to keep playing in 2021, the story said. He explained that one of his goals in 2020 was to make it through the season healthy after previously being sidelined with shoulder and foot injuries.