On what seemed to be another quiet Sunday without football on June 28th, the Patriots (of course) made some noise by signing veteran free agent quarterback and former 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton. The Patriots signed Newton to a 1 year deal, that can be worth up to $7.5 million. Newton had been patiently waiting for a team to pick him up for a little over 3 months, which is not normal for a player who is only 4 seasons removed from an MVP campaign. If the former MVP plays his cards correctly, he could very well set himself up for a big pay day in the 2021 off-season.
Does he fit the Patriot Offense?
Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, once raved about his new acquisition prior to a week 4 match-up against the Carolina Panthers in 2017 saying; “Not saying that there aren’t a lot of other good players that do that, but I would say, of all the guys we play or have played recently in the last couple of years, I would definitely put him at the top of the list, he’s the hardest guy to deal with. “He makes good decisions, he can run, he’s strong, he’s hard to tackle. He can do a lot of different things, beat you in a lot of different ways. We saw that in the game down there in 2013, so I would put him at the top of the list. Not saying the other guys aren’t a problem, because they are, but he’s public enemy number one”.
Coach Belichick has never gotten the opportunity to work with a talent like Cam Newton because he has not had to worry about who is going to be under center since the last millennium (excluding 2008 due to Tom Brady tearing his ACL). Giving him a talent like this could be scary for the rest of the league. It seems like a good fit for Belichick and the Patriots because they almost always capitalize off their “risky signings” because of their stable infrastructure. We also are not going to be seeing the same Cam Newton that was dabbing all over Carolina, this is going to be a version of Cam with a chip on his shoulder and everything to prove, which seems like a perfect fit for the Patriot way on a 1 year “prove it” deal.
Newton has a career completion percentage of 59.57%, so he wasn’t the most accurate quarterback New England could’ve got their hands on but his explosive play style is undeniable when healthy. Newton is currently tied for 6th place (Todd Gurley) in career rushing touchdowns among active players with 58. When healthy, Cam Newton’s arm can be one of the strongest and still has the ability to win big football games with it. He proved that in his MVP season in which the Panthers went 15-1 and made a run all the way to Super Bowl 50. In his last healthy season in which he played all 16 games (2017-2018), he led the Panthers to an 11-5 record.
Should this move make the Patriots AFC favorites again?
It’s safe to say that if a healthy Newton can beat out Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, that this offense should keep the Patriots more than competitive and should be fighting for a playoff spot next season (as usual). If the offense can manage to stay above average (which is likely with Bill Belichick/Josh McDaniels running your offense), it should lead to a decent season for New England because their defense is coming off a season where they were ranked No.1.
New England should not be anyone’s favorite to win the AFC whatsoever this season with young teams emerging, such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. They should also not be counted out of making some noise in the 2021 postseason either. With Newton’s sky high potential and Belichick’s stellar defensive philosophies, which features reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore. I expect New England to have a win range of somewhere around 9-11 for the upcoming season.
