Report: Patriots Are Leaning One Way With QB Cam Newton

The New England Patriots signed veteran quarterback Cam Newton to a one-year deal in order to find the right replacement for Tom Brady. TB12 left the organization last spring and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Newton entered the Patriots training camp with a heavy burden on his back. Head coach Bill Belichick made him compete with second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer. Newton turned out to be the best option, but he ended up having one of the most disappointing seasons in his career.

The former No.1 overall NFL Draft pick had a good start of the season, but his performance saw a big decline following his short battle with COVID-19.

The Patriots will enter Week 17 with one major goal. Belichick will observe his players to see who is playing in 2021.

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Patriots will part ways with the 2015 NFL MVP.

Patriots to lose Cam Newton

When it comes to Newton, he has one major regret about his first and probably only season with the Patriots.

“My only regret was I wish I had more time to dissect what I was actually getting in to,” the veteran said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to kind of always downplay, like, ‘Man, we don’t need preseason. We don’t need OTAs. We’re ready to go.’ Yeah, maybe if I was still in the system I came from. But learning this system, you just need more time, you need more real reps to kind of go through because there’s only but so much you can kind of make up.

“You could put the eyelashes on. You could do your eyebrows. You could put your lipstick on. The mascara and the lip liner. But sooner or later, it’s going to rain and the real true you will show. And unfortunately, it showed — not necessarily in ways that I wanted to.”

The Patriots will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. They will finish the regular season with a game against the New York Jets on Sunday. As mentioned before, this will be more like a preseason game for Belichick’s team.