Truth Behind Cam Newton And New England Patriots Free Agency Buzz

Cam Newton didn’t really have a chance to sign a deal with the New England Patriots. There wasn’t really a big interaction between the veteran quarterback and Bill Belichick’s team. The 2015 NFL MVP is still trying to find a home in the NFL. Greg Bedard, editorial director at Boston Sports Journal, reported that the talks were preliminary after the Carolina Panthers cut Newton in March.

“The only communication I know of (there could have been more) came from Newton’s camp and it was just due diligence, not met positively or negatively,” he tweeted.

ESPN reported that the Patriots talked to Newton about their pairing. The conversation stopped here, and Newton didn’t get a deal.

“I’m told from sources that his market has cooled considerably in the last month or so,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said over the weekend on SportsCenter. “It is believed that he spoke to the Patriots at some point early in free agency around March. Since then, nothing has materialized. One general manager told me, ‘look I’m not so sure he’s willing to take a backup job because of all that he’s accomplished.’ He would have to prove that he’s willing to do that. He hasn’t yet, so he continues to wait. But he knows he has time. Once things open up, he can talk to teams.”

Cam Newton may not join the Patriots

The Patriots were considered favorites to get Newton in April. Many thought Newton would go under center instead of Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.

Newton’s former coach, Ron Rivera, said Newton hasn’t sign a deal due to injury concerns. He also said that NFL teams couldn’t meet with Newton during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think that’s probably the biggest thing, more than anything else,” Rivera said on FS1’s FOX Football Now last week. “You’ve got to know. The foot and the shoulder will be the two biggest concerns everybody has. I will say this, though, from the people that are around him that I know, they’ve all said the same thing to me.

“They’ve said, ‘Coach, he looks great. He really does.’ And they also told me, ‘He’s a little bit different.’ His whole attitude — he’s got something to prove. And I will say this — the one thing about Cam Newton with an edge for something to prove, don’t ever bet against him.”

Newton had a right shoulder surgery in January 2019. He missed two games in 2018 and almost all of the 2019 season due to a Lisfranc fracture. 2015 is his best season, and his performance is inconsistent.

“Not saying he can’t bounce back,” an anonymous NFL general manager told league insider Albert Breer. “But the decline is evident.“