Patriots’ QB Cam Newton Reveals How Offseason Throwing Sessions Came Together

Cam Newton has yet to play his first game with the New England Patriots, but his throwing sessions speak volumes. Newton had plenty of time to work out with Mohamed Sanu, Julian Edelman, Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry and Devin Asiasi. Second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer had their workouts with Sanu, Edelman, Gunner Olszewski, Dalton Keene, Jakob Johnson and David Andrews.

According to Newton, the workouts at UCLA were pretty interesting.

“Just to see how their movements are from in and out of cuts, in and out of breaks and to actually break the ice,” the quarterback said Friday. “I wanted to get a head start on [them] at that particular time. Just get on the same page and expectation because let’s be honest, it’s not much that you can learn from a person more than you can learn from out of the facility interaction. I just wanted to see from personal things to even professional things as well.”

Cam Newton used throwing sessions to adjust to the system

NFL players had different offseason. they didn’t take part in any team activities and minicamp. NFL training camps are shortened by two weeks. There will be no preseason games this time. Stidham and Hoyer didn’t have a chance to practice with their teammates due to the coronavirus pandemic so they played catch with the guys.

“Hoy and I were here on the East Coast,” Stidham said Friday. “So, we weren’t able to have OTAs, obviously, so we just said, ‘Hey, if anybody is in town or wants to come into town let’s just try and get together and be responsible about everything and try and get some good work in.’ Going from January to training camp is a long time not to throw with guys, get timing and chemistry down with those guys. That’s just kind of how we did it. We were fortunate enough to have some guys.”

Newton arrived in New England before signing his deal with the Pats. The team offered him a deal in March and he was already on the spot. NFL teams had virtual meetings, but these meetings could in no way replace spring practices.

“We were having these virtual meetings and said, ‘look, if anyone’s in town normally we’d be doing this right now and we have to be smart about it.’ So we kind of put that together,” Hoyer said Friday. “Once Cam came along we had one or two more sessions with people coming back into town. Now, we’ve been back in the building. It’s been good. Look, this is the NFL and teammates change from year-to-year. There’s always additions, subtractions. People come into the room, you embrace it and you move on. You’re teammates and one day at a time.”

Newton, Hoyer and Stidham will compete for the starting job in New England. Head coach Bill Belichick will have so much to do in the next couple of weeks. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch said the competition is wide open.

Newton has plenty of experience and Hoyer knows how the Patriots work. But, Stidham spent a year working with Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels. This gives him an advantage. But, Belichick and his staff have the final saying this time. Finding a replacement for Brady won’t be easy. Well, let’s just say it’s impossible to find another Brady.