Cam Newton returns - Schefter and The Globe

[Ed Monix]

https://twitter.com/mikegarafolo/status/1370466129253175298?s=21

Basically $3.5 mil is guaranteed.

Yes, from what I’ve heard early on, Pats are using him as plan b.

They may want Jimmy G but 49ers haven’t indicated they are willing to move him and I’m sure they are looking at QB’s in the upcoming draft but they don’t have an early enough pic in the 1st round to guarantee their guy will be there. Although Cam isn’t what he use to be I do think COVID really affected him also.

For me though similar to the Spurs, the brain drain has really hurt them over the last few years. Bill recently blamed the team trying to win now as an excuse for their poor current situation but that isn’t completely true as their recent draft record is terrible...not because they tried to draft for fit or potential but just bad pics.

My ideal scenario would have been to try and keep Brady to stay as long as he wants and draft Mac Jones as his heir.

[Boris Badenov]

He's an overqualified backup, which is not a bad thing to have heading into the draft, it gives you a little more flexibility to pass on a QB if you love someone else.

And hey, if we do get another good QB, it's not insane to line them both up out there. Cam's a pretty decent option out of the backfield.

On a more depressing note, the fact that we re-signed him the same day Brady re-signed for 4 years with Tampa Bay is a kick in the nuts.

[PhoSita]

I think you're being a bit over the top in your anger here. We are talking about the greatest coach in NFL history and you are saying you think he has no plan to rebuild this team? Really?

Bill recreated his team every year. It was normal for Bill to bring in 20-30 new players every year yet they still won and won and won. They went through multiple and very different types of offense and defense over the years, built around trying to maximize the strength of their players while hiding their weaknesses.

Bill is a great coach.  Love Bill as a coach.

His track record in finding and bringing in younger talent over the last 5-10 years isn't great.

You mention that he's retooled the team numerous times over the last couple of decades, and that's true.  But he always had a centerpiece at QB who lowered the degree of difficulty for that endeavor.

I want to see some kind of recognition from the team that they do not have enough talent, on a fundamental level, to be an exciting and competitive team, and that simply patching over those holes with middle-late round draft picks and disciplined, middle of the road free agency signings will not be enough to alter that.

If Bill has the mindset that he's too old to do another rebuild and he wants to compete for the playoffs every season, I respect that.  He's earned it.  But if that's how he feels, then I think he should do like Brady and go join a franchise that has more talent already in place.  The Pats aren't going anywhere until they commit to rebuilding the core of the roster.


When Brady decided to leave, I felt ready for the Pats to make a fresh start.  It was such a slog with Brady toward the end.  They didn't have pieces around him to make his job easy, which as great as he is was necessary given his age.  I was looking forward to Brady's departure giving the team a chance to be creative and become a bit more dynamic, maybe a bit younger and more athletic, instead of trying to just retool perpetually around an aging pocket passer.

I figured they would be bad, but they would be different and hopefully a more fun / unpredictable version than what we saw in 2018 and 2019.  Boy was I wrong.

Now we're more than a year out from Brady's departure, the Pats are coming off a boring and disappointing season where they could barely score a TD against anyone, they apparently want to bring back the same basic team they had last year but with some of the usual caliber of reinforcements, and there's no indication that they understand the basic truth that until they find another franchise QB, they have no present and no future.

[PhoSita]

He's an overqualified backup, which is not a bad thing to have heading into the draft, it gives you a little more flexibility to pass on a QB if you love someone else.

And hey, if we do get another good QB, it's not insane to line them both up out there. Cam's a pretty decent option out of the backfield.

On a more depressing note, the fact that we re-signed him the same day Brady re-signed for 4 years with Tampa Bay is a kick in the nuts.

Cold comfort, but I just remind myself that if Brady had stayed, the Pats would almost certainly be coming off a season that looked very similar to the 2019 season, and there would be no obvious change on the horizon. 

I'm glad that Brady is adding yet another period of dominance to his illustrious career rather than wallowing on a team with no weapons and no prospects.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Meh. Which pretty much sums up my thinking about the entire Pats team right now. They have no exciting receivers or tight ends, and they have a lot of room for improvement. Granted, Cam had few weapons, but he also threw a lot of balls into the ground at players' feet, sooooo ... yeah, not excited to have him back.

It's a "meh" team with no apparent plan for becoming more than "meh."

I think you're being a bit over the top in your anger here. We are talking about the greatest coach in NFL history and you are saying you think he has no plan to rebuild this team? Really?

Bill recreated his team every year. It was normal for Bill to bring in 20-30 new players every year yet they still won and won and won. They went through multiple and very different types of offense and defense over the years, built around trying to maximize the strength of their players while hiding their weaknesses.

I don't necessarily love the move. I actually can't stand Cam Newton in any way. But he is a stop gap during a bridge year and if you knew ahead of time this year would be a bridge year, and I think everyone in Patriot Nation does know this, then it really doesn't matter who that stop gap QB on a one year deal would be.

I'm sure Bill has a plan, but I also think his many recreations of the team's offense worked primarily because he had Tom Brady leading the charge. Having Brady covers for a lot of deficiencies. Or do you have a different view?

I agree with you that this is a(nother) bridge year, and it probably won't matter this season who the quarterback is (Cam, journeyman, rookie, etc.). Bill's gonna have to do a lot more than re-signing Cam to get me excited about next season.

[nickagneta]

I think you're being a bit over the top in your anger here. We are talking about the greatest coach in NFL history and you are saying you think he has no plan to rebuild this team? Really?

Bill recreated his team every year. It was normal for Bill to bring in 20-30 new players every year yet they still won and won and won. They went through multiple and very different types of offense and defense over the years, built around trying to maximize the strength of their players while hiding their weaknesses.

Bill is a great coach.  Love Bill as a coach.

His track record in finding and bringing in younger talent over the last 5-10 years isn't great.

You mention that he's retooled the team numerous times over the last couple of decades, and that's true.  But he always had a centerpiece at QB who lowered the degree of difficulty for that endeavor.

I want to see some kind of recognition from the team that they do not have enough talent, on a fundamental level, to be an exciting and competitive team, and that simply patching over those holes with middle-late round draft picks and disciplined, middle of the road free agency signings will not be enough to alter that.

If Bill has the mindset that he's too old to do another rebuild and he wants to compete for the playoffs every season, I respect that.  He's earned it.  But if that's how he feels, then I think he should do like Brady and go join a franchise that has more talent already in place.  The Pats aren't going anywhere until they commit to rebuilding the core of the roster.


When Brady decided to leave, I felt ready for the Pats to make a fresh start.  It was such a slog with Brady toward the end.  They didn't have pieces around him to make his job easy, which as great as he is was necessary given his age.  I was looking forward to Brady's departure giving the team a chance to be creative and become a bit more dynamic, maybe a bit younger and more athletic, instead of trying to just retool perpetually around an aging pocket passer.

I figured they would be bad, but they would be different and hopefully a more fun / unpredictable version than what we saw in 2018 and 2019.  Boy was I wrong.

Now we're more than a year out from Brady's departure, the Pats are coming off a boring and disappointing season where they could barely score a TD against anyone, they apparently want to bring back the same basic team they had last year but with some of the usual caliber of reinforcements, and there's no indication that they understand the basic truth that until they find another franchise QB, they have no present and no future.

Bill keeps his moves close to the vest. He's not a guy you see making moves that are all about what's out there in rumors. So to state that you would want to see him somehow admitting they will be essentially tanking makes little sense. That's not how Bill works, and you know that.

I say let's see how the draft and free agency play out. If they draft Mac Jones or Trey Lance or Kyle Trask and sign a couple guys like Hunter Henry and Galloday, things look very, very different.

I say let's wait to see who is in uniform come training camp this summer before coming to the decision that Bill has no plans for the future.

[Vermont Green]

Understanding that only $3.5M is guaranteed makes a lot of sense.  I actually would rather pay short money on a stop gap like Cam than overpay in the $25M-$35M for a vet that is still mediocre (as I consider Garoppolo and most of the other options).  It is kind of dammed if you do, dammed if you don't kind of thing but I feel this is better for this point in time for the team.

My only hope is that maybe Cam had some injury and that he will actually be able to throw better next season.  Last season was pretty bad.

[Donoghus]

I think you're being a bit over the top in your anger here. We are talking about the greatest coach in NFL history and you are saying you think he has no plan to rebuild this team? Really?

Bill recreated his team every year. It was normal for Bill to bring in 20-30 new players every year yet they still won and won and won. They went through multiple and very different types of offense and defense over the years, built around trying to maximize the strength of their players while hiding their weaknesses.

Bill is a great coach.  Love Bill as a coach.

His track record in finding and bringing in younger talent over the last 5-10 years isn't great.

You mention that he's retooled the team numerous times over the last couple of decades, and that's true.  But he always had a centerpiece at QB who lowered the degree of difficulty for that endeavor.

I want to see some kind of recognition from the team that they do not have enough talent, on a fundamental level, to be an exciting and competitive team, and that simply patching over those holes with middle-late round draft picks and disciplined, middle of the road free agency signings will not be enough to alter that.

If Bill has the mindset that he's too old to do another rebuild and he wants to compete for the playoffs every season, I respect that.  He's earned it.  But if that's how he feels, then I think he should do like Brady and go join a franchise that has more talent already in place.  The Pats aren't going anywhere until they commit to rebuilding the core of the roster.


When Brady decided to leave, I felt ready for the Pats to make a fresh start.  It was such a slog with Brady toward the end.  They didn't have pieces around him to make his job easy, which as great as he is was necessary given his age.  I was looking forward to Brady's departure giving the team a chance to be creative and become a bit more dynamic, maybe a bit younger and more athletic, instead of trying to just retool perpetually around an aging pocket passer.

I figured they would be bad, but they would be different and hopefully a more fun / unpredictable version than what we saw in 2018 and 2019.  Boy was I wrong.

Now we're more than a year out from Brady's departure, the Pats are coming off a boring and disappointing season where they could barely score a TD against anyone, they apparently want to bring back the same basic team they had last year but with some of the usual caliber of reinforcements, and there's no indication that they understand the basic truth that until they find another franchise QB, they have no present and no future.

Bill keeps his moves close to the vest. He's not a guy you see making moves that are all about what's out there in rumors. So to state that you would want to see him somehow admitting they will be essentially tanking makes little sense. That's not how Bill works, and you know that.

I say let's see how the draft and free agency play out. If they draft Mac Jones or Trey Lance or Kyle Trask and sign a couple guys like Hunter Henry and Galloday, things look very, very different.

I say let's wait to see who is in uniform come training camp this summer before coming to the decision that Bill has no plans for the future.

The team has a boatload of cap room, draft capital, and several guys coming back from the opt out. 

Its waaay too early to write this team off.  I'm not expecting the world in 2021 but I also don't think they're going 6-10 either. 

[SparzWizard]

In other news, Belichick is playing checkers while everyone else in the league is playing chess.

[Moranis]

Cam was 2-1 and looked pretty good before he got Covid and that was coming in without an offseason, coming off a major surgery, learning a new offense, etc.  I think you give him a full off-season, another full year post-surgery, and no Covid problems, and Cam will be a lot better.  He won't ever be MVP Cam again, but he can certainly be good enough to get the job done if the rest of the team is good.  Need a much better OL, some actual people that can catch the ball, and a defense that doesn't fall apart.  Pats have a ton of cap room to make moves as well.

[gouki88]

If he’s there to mentor Trey Lance, then sure, that makes sense.

But we have two wide receivers who are genuinely better throws of the ball than him. Not exciting at all

[PhoSita]

Bill keeps his moves close to the vest. He's not a guy you see making moves that are all about what's out there in rumors. So to state that you would want to see him somehow admitting they will be essentially tanking makes little sense. That's not how Bill works, and you know that.

I say let's see how the draft and free agency play out. If they draft Mac Jones or Trey Lance or Kyle Trask and sign a couple guys like Hunter Henry and Galloday, things look very, very different.

I say let's wait to see who is in uniform come training camp this summer before coming to the decision that Bill has no plans for the future.

I see the wisdom of what you're saying, I just really hate the idea of spending another season with the Pats having a truly excruciating and boring offense that very obviously bears no resemblance to what this team is going to be running whenever they are actually good again.

Two things I want if my team is not contending:

(1) To be entertained

(2) To have hope


Pats last year didn't check either box.  I'm concerned they're not going to check either box this year, either.

[Ed Monix]

If he’s there to mentor Trey Lance, then sure, that makes sense.

But we have two wide receivers who are genuinely better throws of the ball than him. Not exciting at all

Bulk up Cam and play him as a slot receiver, slim down Julian and play him as a QB...done haha

[nickagneta]

Bill keeps his moves close to the vest. He's not a guy you see making moves that are all about what's out there in rumors. So to state that you would want to see him somehow admitting they will be essentially tanking makes little sense. That's not how Bill works, and you know that.

I say let's see how the draft and free agency play out. If they draft Mac Jones or Trey Lance or Kyle Trask and sign a couple guys like Hunter Henry and Galloday, things look very, very different.

I say let's wait to see who is in uniform come training camp this summer before coming to the decision that Bill has no plans for the future.

I see the wisdom of what you're saying, I just really hate the idea of spending another season with the Pats having a truly excruciating and boring offense that very obviously bears no resemblance to what this team is going to be running whenever they are actually good again.

Two things I want if my team is not contending:

(1) To be entertained

(2) To have hope


Pats last year didn't check either box.  I'm concerned they're not going to check either box this year, either.

In the worst of sports years, and I have seen them(1970-2004 Red Sox, 1975-2002 Patriots, 1972- 2011Bruins, 1977-1980 and 1990-2008 Celtics), I always had a couple boxes to check. One, as you say, entertainment. The other, watching and following the young guys as they developed. I always fell for those young players in bad years.

But hope, hope I always had. In the darkest of times, sports or IRL, people go on because of hope, and that is something that has to come from within.

I hope my team wins the game. I hope they win the next. I hope they are good. I hope they go to the playoffs. I hope they win it all. And if none of that happens, I hope they are better next year.

Even during the worst of the worst seasons, record breakingly bad seasons, heartbreaking endings of seasons, the absolute most tragic of seasons and off-seasons, you have to have hope.

I hope this helps, because yeah, having Cam play QB next year sucks

[gouki88]

If he’s there to mentor Trey Lance, then sure, that makes sense.

But we have two wide receivers who are genuinely better throws of the ball than him. Not exciting at all

Bulk up Cam and play him as a slot receiver, slim down Julian and play him as a QB...done haha

Haha, would be a curveball! Even Jakobi Meyers could play QB, he has a career QB rating of 158 after all