There are two main reasons why Newton, a former league MVP was signed by the Patriots so late in the off-season.<\/p>\n
First, Newton was released by the Carolina Panthers two weeks into the free agency period. \u00a0He was counting $20M against their cap for a QB that they were uncertain was going to play to the level he did in 2018 before the rash of injuries.\u00a0 They certainly didn\u2019t do Cam Newton any favors.\u00a0 Many QB\u2019s already found new homes.\u00a0 As free agency went on the number of available starting jobs had dwindled to just a couple.\u00a0 I would think New England and Los Angeles Chargers were it and it appeared the Chargers were settled on Tyrod Taylor.\u00a0 That left New England.\u00a0 All off season we constantly heard how pleased the Patriots were with Jared Stidham.\u00a0 Many of the beat writers were fed info from Patriots sources.\u00a0 They were used.\u00a0 \u00a0What happened is the Patriots waited out Newton and his price dropped to where it became a reasonable gamble to take on Newton.\u00a0 The price was right and the Patriots pounced.\u00a0 This is a low cost high ceiling gamble.\u00a0\u00a0 The Patriots can actually fit Newton under the cap without a subsequent corresponding transaction.<\/p>\n
Secondly, Newton has been hurt each of the past three seasons, losing almost all of last season to a Lisfranc foot injury.\u00a0 This is a painful injury that is sometimes hard to diagnose and is confused with a foot sprain.\u00a0 Newton also had two shoulder injuries, one which he need off season surgery.\u00a0 How has Newton recovered from these injuries?\u00a0 Many team shied away from Newton because of the injuries.\u00a0 How much access were teams granted to his medical reports?\u00a0 Were teams able to have him examined by their own physicians?\u00a0 Newton posted some impressive workout videos on his Instagram account.<\/p>\n
What are we to expect?\u00a0 Newton\u2019s style doesn\u2019t exactly fit the Patriots Way.\u00a0 He takes the clock right down to the last second.\u00a0 He calls his own number way too much, exposing him to un-necessary hits.\u00a0 His legs are what has made him a threat.\u00a0 What if the Patriots told him they don\u2019t want him running that often?\u00a0 The Patriots by all accounts are gearing up for a more intense running game this year (two new TE\u2019s, new FB, return of starting center David Andrews and the retention of Joe Thuney under the Franchise tag.\u00a0 They signed Newton to a one year show me contract laden with incentives.\u00a0 No risk on their part.\u00a0 In 2018 Newton completed more than 60% of his passes for the 1st<\/sup> time in his career.\u00a0 Christian McCaffery was on the receiving end of a lot of short passes.\u00a0 Newton has James White and Julian Edelman to throw those short passes to.\u00a0 Newton has a strong arm and can throw the ball downfield, something Tom Brady couldn\u2019t do.\u00a0 \u00a0Opposing defenses won\u2019t be able to play the 20 yard box against Newton.\u00a0 Even if the Patriots don\u2019t let Newton run those Run Pass Option plays, he has that escape ability to get out of the pocket and scramble for first downs.<\/p>\n Are the Patriots dissatisfied with Jared Stidham?\u00a0\u00a0 Stidham recently attended a wedding in Texas. \u00a0The Patriots may not have been too pleased he went, given the spike in COVID-19 cases in Texas.\u00a0 Could that be a factor?<\/p>\n Newton is full of personality and he is a reporter\u2019s joy.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t the way the Patriots run.\u00a0 This should be an interesting camp to see what Newton has left in the tank!\u00a0 It will be interesting to see how Josh MacDaniel will deploy his newest weapon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two main reasons why Newton, a former league MVP was signed by the Patriots so late in the off-season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":31231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2216,11,10],"tags":[855,44],"class_list":["post-31229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2020-patriots-offseason","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-cam-newton","tag-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n