Former MVP comes to New England
Less than two weeks ago I wrote about how the Patriots are in trouble due to their lack of talent at the Quarterback position. It looks like the Patriots knew exactly what they were doing after all. New England passed up on signing any Free Agents such as veterans Andy Dalton and Philip Rivers. Instead, they wait patiently in the market and end up with a former MVP who is just 31 years old. Cam Newton is out to prove he is still a Franchise Quarterback and what better place than to do it in New England. Keep in mind, Superman can reach up to $7.5M on this one year deal with incentives.
Cam will receive a base pay just north of $1M with a $550K signing bonus. If Newton comes to play and has a great statistical year, New England will benefit in every way possible. In financial comparison, former Titans QB Marcus Mariota was signed for $8M a year to backup Derek Carr for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Patriots have reached a team friendly deal with Newton that gives him all the chance to prove himself to the league. The ultimate low risk, high reward transaction for the franchise.
Words of Belichick
Cam Newton has won both career games against the New England Patriots. It is safe to say that Belichick has some serious respect for the former MVP. Belichick was quoted prior to their 2018 matchup, “When you’re talking about mobile quarterbacks, guys that are tough to handle, tackle, can throw, run, make good decisions. I mean, I would put Newton at the top of the list. He makes good decisions, he can run, he’s strong, he’s hard to tackle. We saw that in the game down there in ’13, so I would put him at the top of the list.”
In his two appearances vs New England, Newton was 41-of-57, for 525 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. The recipe for 2020 in New England will be a run heavy offense playing behind their stout defense. McDaniels is not going to look for Newton to change the world in one month of camp together. As the season goes on, the game plans will gradually expand week by week. If Newton is back to full health, the Patriot nightmare that has lived in the heads of AFC Defensive Coordinators could continue. Newton is 7-1 vs the AFC East in his career with a 17 Total Touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.
AFC East Favorite
The reason why we all love sports is that there is always a level of uncertainty. In late May, I wrote about how the Buffalo Bills should be the favorite to win the Division and trump the Patriots for the AFC East. That idea has come to a halt since the signing on Sunday. Cam is automatically the best Quarterback in the AFC East if he can climb back to just 70% of what he was before the shoulder and foot injuries. That is all the Pats will need. Newton is levels ahead of Stidham and all of the other divisional Quarterbacks. As long as health is on his side it should be a fun fall for Patriot Nation. In perspective, what better way to replace Tom Brady than with a player he has never beat? Oh, and do not forget Brady is playing for $25M this year. Newton hitting all of his incentives would only achieve exactly one third of Brady’s pay.
-Fred O’Brien (@FOBSportsNFL)
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