Did the Patriots Consider Colin Kaepernick Before Signing Cam Newton?
Last night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a bombshell of a news drop. He broke the news to the public that the New England Patriots would be signing former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton to a one-year deal.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has reached agreement on a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the New England Patriots, league sources tell @mortreport and me.
Newton now will step into the mix to try to help replace former Patriots’ QB Tom Brady.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 28, 2020
With the addition of Newton, New England’s roster now has Brian Hoyer, Jarrett Stidham, and the former NFL MVP set to compete for the starting QB job: a job that hasn’t been available in 20 years.
This addition seemed like something that was coming eventually. Patriot’s head coach Bill Belichick always pounces on the opportunity to scoop up talented players that come with minimal risk. Newton fits that bill to a T. And with question marks surrounding New England’s quarterback position with Tom Brady now in Tampa, it seemed like a no-brainer to take a chance on the former number one overall pick.
Pros outweigh the cons. You don’t know if either of the two QBs you have are good. That’s a disaster if starter gets sick/hurt. You hope that Stidham wins the job, but if Newton goes on a tear playing for a contract, you’ve got a cheap year of really good QB play pic.twitter.com/2C6TpjPGDM
— DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) June 29, 2020
But was Newton the only QB New England considered bringing in? According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the Patriots were also interested in former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Surprising, but also not. After Brady’s departure the idea of bringing in an athletic, mobile quarterback like Newton and Kaepernick had to have been enticing for Belichick and the Pats. I mean, their signal caller for the past 20 years was slow as molasses.
Still, as much as I believe Kaepernick should have a job in the NFL, New England made the right call going with Newton.
Newton’s injury issues have been well documented, but he (unlike Kaepernick) has not been out of the league since 2016. Justified or not, that had to have played a role in the way New England decided to go. And at the end of the day, Newton at his peak (MVP) was better than Kaepernick at his.
Who knows if New England will get the best version of Newton that fans have seen, but it is worth a shot. Belichick can’t be into the idea of “tanking”, and bringing Newton into the fold makes the team more talented and ready to roll.
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-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)
Featured image courtesy of Twitter / @ComplexsSports