Cam Newton List of Doubters Includes His Own Patriots Teammates

The New England Patriots decided to trust Cam Newton and offered him a one-year deal, but there are several doubters among his current teammates.

The 2015 NFL MVP struggled in his first season with the Patriots but he didn’t have much time to get ready for the season. Head coach Bill Belichick added him in the summer of 2020 and Newton got COVID-19. He had to learn the new system. Newton had to beat Jarrett Stidham and win the quarterback competition. Brian Hoyer was also there.

Things look a lot different this season. Belichick selected a quarterback in the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. A lot of analysts believe that Mac Jones is the future quarterback for the Patriots. Newton will have to beat that, too.

Cam Newton to prove doubters wrong

Newton completed 65.8% of his passes while averaging 7.2 yards gained per pass attempt. He rushed for 591 yards and 12 touchdowns. Well, Newton had just eight passing touchdowns against 10 interceptions.

Here comes the bad part. Newton had a 47.0 total quarterback rating. This was the lowest mark of his career. The 11.0 yards gained per pass completion was actually the second-lower number of his career.

The veteran quarterback had enough time to make things work and he also worked on his body. He wasn’t able to change some aspects of his game though. Belichick wanted him to be 100%.

OK, Cam Newton’s receiving touchdown for the Patriots was pretty dope.pic.twitter.com/xKcEVmIRc4

— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) July 20, 2021

No one thought that Belichick would bring Newton back. Well, he re-signed his veteran and gave him another competition. The veteran has a $5 million base value with $9 million in incentives.

Cam Newton likely has the edge at QB for the Patriots, but for how long can he hold off Mac Jones? https://t.co/LENkNeybr7

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 26, 2021

This leads us all the way to Mike Florio’s latest report. He explained that “multiple current teammates” do not believe that Newton can recapture his previous form. Newton suffered many injuries in his career. Florio’s report alludes that Pats players have an open mind about Jones starting games.

Cam Newton's contract with the #Patriots has a $5 million base value, according to sources:

$2m signing bonus
$1.5m base salary (guaranteed)
$1.5m total in per-game roster bonuses

The rest ($9m) is in incentives for playoffs, Pro Bowl, All-Pro, MVP, Super Bowl MVP, etc.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2021

It seems like Belichick has a different opinion. The same goes for Patriots edge rusher Matt Judon. He expects big things from the quarterback.

The quarterback competition begins on Wednesday and Newton is getting ready for the challenge.