Welcome to The Patriots Newton!

[amfootball]

No it isn't. Otherwise they would've offered Newton more than the veteran's minimum. If Stidham outperforms Newton in training camp / pre-season Newton could very well be cut by the time the regular season starts (if and when it starts).

Newton is not getting cut. He is your week one starter and will be the starter unless he gets injured.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Comparing Cam's stats to Tom's is silly. Tom is gone.

The relevant question is whether he is an improvement upom (or a helpful addition to) Stidham & Hoyer, at a vet minimum contract, which rises to 25% of the salary of an elite QB, only if he presumably plays exactly like an elite QB.

In Bill I trust. I have doubts, but considering the contract, it seems a great no-risk move.

 

[lancerman]

Of course his value was down. But in the end, he wasn't promised the starting job and he was given a contract that makes it extremely easy to cut him. If the Patriots really planned him in as surefire starter, I believe the contract would look somewhat different, respective they would've signed him earlier.

It’s easy if not easier to cut any of the three QB’s. If you were sold on Stidham, there’s no reason to bring in Cam.

 

[Wozzy]

I am not saying you are wrong. My gut feeling is just that Newton will ask to be released if he can't start and depending on the roster bonus -- which we should hear soon about -- the Pats will most probably oblige. But that's just my read on Cam Newton.

And I'm not saying you're wrong, but it would be dumb on Cam's part. Better to be a backup on a great team with a great O-Line than a horrible team with a screen door of an O-Line. It's only a one year deal.

 

[luuked]

Sure but my point is BB thought Brady would accept that deal. He didn't.

I disagree. There is the good old quote about how if you make players available to other teams you have to be prepared that they might be gone. It was originally aimed at camp cuts and trying to smuggle some to the PS but it also applies to FA.

They were absolutely prepared for Brady to move on. I have no idea what you expected to happen. Them kidnapping Mahomes or Watson ?

And here we are with the worst set of QBs in the league. It is so bad that there are articles surmising that Newton was brought in to be the back up to Stidham because Hoyer is so bad. i mean we literally have a barrel full of crap right now at the most important position.

That is your opinion. Mine is that Newton -- if healthy -- is a top 10 QB in the league while Stidham/Hoyer would give us an offense somewhere between above and below average depending on the exact matchup of the week.


I really don't see the big QB failure this offseason. If you take away the option of overpaying Brady what else was there ?

 

[Wozzy]

It’s easy if not easier to cut any of the three QB’s. If you were sold on Stidham, there’s no reason to bring in Cam.

Assuming health Cam is better than Hoyer. There is a clear and obvious reason to bring Cam in.

 

[amfootball]

I really don't see the big QB failure this offseason. If you take away the option of overpaying Brady what else was there ?

Gee I dunno, how about draft a legit QB in any of the past three off-seasons?

 

[PatriotsReign]

I don’t think any Pats fans are rooting for Cam over Stidham or vice versa. We just want the guy that gives us our best chance to win and is teachable under a very challenging coach

 

[lancerman]

Assuming health Cam is better than Hoyer. There is a clear and obvious reason to bring Cam in.

It’s also a different offense with Cam than Hoyer and Cam is going to get the media coverage you don’t want in a back up

 

[Lagaffe_07]

First,If he plays good this year, no way we can extend him under 25 mil a year And second, I don’t think we have the talent to win anything this year. It’s why I don’t understand the move. The defense is aging and was not so good against good teams last year with more talent than this year.

So with this move we are not totally in rebuild mode and not totally in the win now mode. I say a year with cam will bring us nothing and a year with Stidham will bring us a futur QB or a pick to get one.

 

[lancerman]

I don’t think any Pats fans are rooting for Cam over Stidham or vice versa. We just want the guy that gives us our best chance to win and is teachable under a very challenging coach

It’s different dynamics. My opinion on Stidham was he earned nothing so the best thing he could do is prove it like Brady did in 01 or fail fast so we could get part of the race for Lawrence and move on with our lives. Cam is a high reward/low risk signing that if he lives up to his hype can legitimately make us a contender because at his best he’s one of the QB’s that can play well with not much support because of how he creates on offense. But if he sucks he’s just an experiment we move on from

 

[ctpatsfan77]

One thing I like about Cam, besides his physical abilities (when healthy), is that he likes to throw to TEs. He loved throwing to Greg Olsen. I still want Stidham to win the battle, but I'm not sure TE was a priority at Auburn for him as pass option. I really want to see the TE position become a priority for the Pats, the Pats offense is at it's best when we have pass catching TEs, opens up things for our WRs as well.

TBF, Stidham had very little to work with at TE last year, and Malzahn's Auburn offense is just plain wonky.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'll bet anything that Newton's $7.5m is almost entirely non guaranteed, not likely to be earned incentives that don't hit the cap unless he turns into a Pro Bowler again, at which point they hit the 2021 cap which will be much larger than this year's.

It's a zero risk, high upside move.

That's literally the only way you can get a deal potentially worth $7.5M when you only have $650K in salary cap space.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Comparing Cam's stats to Tom's is silly. Tom is gone.

The relevant question is whether he is an improvement upom (or a helpful addition to) Stidham & Hoyer, at a vet minimum contract, which rises to 25% of the salary of an elite QB, only if he presumably plays exactly like an elite QB.

In Bill I trust. I have doubts, but considering the contract, it seems a great no-risk move.

Haven't read the thread. I was definitely not in the sign Cam camp but with BB having done diligence and a fiat accompli, this homer can see the merits of having a proven NFL QB who can push the young guy, maybe beat him out as starter or provide backup in case of injury or inability to play. As the McCourteys said, the guy always presented us problems when we played him. I saw that first hand at Gillette.
I wish him well.

 

[sean10mm]

Why waste a year? You have a good defense that isn’t getting any younger. Why hand tie them with an unproven QB if you don’t have to?

Never understood the faith this board had in Stidham. If he was in the same situation on any other team nobody hear would care about whether he got a chance.

Me either. I'm not assuming he's a bum, but the idea that you have the position on lock because of a 4th rounder who was an afterthought at the college level is bizarre.

He might be another Brady, but he's way more likely to be another Ryan Mallett.

 

[Soliel]

Not sure how to feel on this. I’ve never liked the guy but what the hell? At least we have a veteran option

 

[sb1]

It’s different dynamics. My opinion on Stidham was he earned nothing so the best thing he could do is prove it like Brady did in 01 or fail fast so we could get part of the race for Lawrence and move on with our lives. Cam is a high reward/low risk signing that if he lives up to his hype can legitimately make us a contender because at his best he’s one of the QB’s that can play well with not much support because of how he creates on offense. But if he sucks he’s just an experiment we move on from

Patriots could start Nathan Peterman and they still won’t end up with a record low enough to get a pick that lets them draft Lawrence.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Gee I dunno, how about draft a legit QB in any of the past three off-seasons?

Who and how?

 

[sean10mm]

Who and how?

I mean they had so many high 1st round draft picks to... oh wait.

 

[lancerman]

Me either. I'm not assuming he's a bum, but the idea that you have the position on lock because of a 4th rounder who was an afterthought at the college level is bizarre.

He might be another Brady, but he's way more likely to be another Ryan Mallett.

Exactly. There’s nothing to suggest he’s any more than a Mallett/Hoyer/Etling type. All options were on the table