Patriots had talks earlier this year with Cam Newton.

This is the like the eighth article I have wrote about Cam Newton and around the forth that has to do with him and the New England Patriots. Everyone has an opinion on Cam Newton, to the point it's almost as Bad as seeing Tom Brady stories. 

So now according to Skylar Carlin of Clutch Points, a member of ESPN is saying that the Patriots had conversations with Newton. 

"There has been much speculation that Cam Newton could sign with the New England Patriots. There have been multiple reports that have diffused those rumors. However, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Newton and New England talked early in free agency," wrote Carlin.

I hate to burst everyone's bubbles but there are reasons why Cam is still a free agent. With exception to one year, Newton has played like an undrafted free agent.

Cam Newton came into the NFL in 2011. Since then he has only posted three winning seasons. Newton has missed 19 games over his career. His previous three seasons he went 6-8, 11-5, 6- 8, Newton was on IR in 2019. Newton's record is only 68-55 as a starter. 

Newton has a 59.6 career completion percentage.  He has poor vision and mechanics. Even from clean pockets, he over throws pass catchers and has inconsistent ball placement. He likes to run with open pass catchers. He has also thrown double digit interceptions every year he's been in the league, except 2019 due to injury. Newton threw 107 interceptions his first 8 years. He fumbles too often. Newton with interceptions and fumbles combined averages 20 a season. 

The Patriots can get that kinda passing production out of Hoyer, who has a 59.1 percentage, with less turnovers. The only thing Newton has on Hoyer is running ability and arm strength.

Everyone is still looking back to Newton's one good year where he went 15-1 and won the MVP on his way to a superbowl loss. Was Newton good, or like Joe Burrow in 2019, was he a product of the players around him? 

The Answer is Newton's legs won him the MVP, running for over 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a passer alone, he was average. He threw 10 interceptions and fumbled it 5 more times. He barely averaged over 200 yards and 2 passing touchdowns a game, while completing under 60% of his passes and he had poor ball security for a quarterback. 

Newton is coming off an Injury but with everything I have listed, the injury is just one more thing on a list of negatives for the former first round quarterback. 

Sam Teete of Clutch Points talked about Newton's accuracy in 2018, in a previous article but the quarterback has only had 3 seasons out of 8 where he went over 60% completion percentage. Again the Patriots can get that Kinda Accuracy with Hoyer.

Teete wrote "Cam Newton is also only two years removed from the second-best season of his career. In 2018, he completed 67.9% of his pass attempts for 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 14 games. If Newton can match those numbers in 2020, he could easily start for several teams."

Sure Newton could start in New England, Washington, or Chicago but he has just as much a chance of going 6-10; just as much the guys on the current rosters do. With exception to 2015, Cam has been a first round bust. While he has better physical abilities, he's played at Hoyer's level his entire career. Well at least as a passer.

Carlin stated "With that being said, Fowler revealed that the Patriots had conversations with Newton. Seeing that he remains unsigned, nothing materialized in the preliminary talks from both sides."

The only way Cam makes a roster at the moment is if he takes a pay cut and accepts that he will be a back up. Meaning Newton will have to put his ego aside. 

Hoyer is only making $1.05 Million while Stidham is making $800k. The Patriots would have to do damage to their roster at this point to sign Cam, and he just doesn't seem to be worth all they would have to give up at the moment.

Uninterested Patriots remain favorites to land QB Cam Newton

Maximo Gonzales reported that Draft Kings online betting has the Patriots just a head of the Steelers to sign Cam Newton.

"Patriots +300, Steelers +500, Redskins +700, Cardinals +800, Ravens +800"

Tom Brady has dominated every news story including any time talk of the Patriots quarterback situation occurs. As you may have noticed, I couldn't escape talking about the 40 something year old quarterback.

Bill Belichick commented on Stidham earlier the spring, leaving little doubt that he no interest in signing Newton.

“Stid worked really hard last year,” Belichick said. “I know he’s working hard in the offseason. He’s made a lot of progress in terms of understanding our offense and understanding opponent defenses, like all players do from Year 1 to Year 2. I’m sure he’ll get out there and be ready to go, be prepared and compete hard.”

Bill didn't stop with Stidham as he threw in praise for his depth chart and the possibility of adding a fifth quarterback.

“We feel like we have four good players there, We’ll see how it goes. That’s where we are, You never know what’s gonna happen down the road.”

The Patriots have all reasons to be confident with Stidham, who showed promise at Auburn in 2017 and got a jump on developing rookie quarterbacks around the league by practicing with the first string Patriots offense while learning from Brady.

The Patriots also have one of the smartest minds in football, with Brian Hoyer. While he might not have the ability, he knows the Patriots system. If Hoyer can Show he is capable of producing like he did in 2014 for the Cleveland Browns; Hoyer is in good position to do what Trent Dilfer did in 2000 for the Ravens. Which is win some jewelry for the Patriots.

The Patriots have been slow since the season ended to address contract situations. Currently the Patriots have other issues more important than Newton, Gonzales points out.

"Meanwhile, New England is still trying to secure enough funds to sign safety Kyle Dugger after taking him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft."

The Steelers have Mason Rudolph and Paxton Lynch in their depth chart. Thus, it's hard to phantom why the Steelers would want to sign Cam; however Big Ben has only played four full seasons and is averaging two missed games a season due to injury over his career. Which according to Gonzales is why the Steelers weren't a playoff team in 2019.

The Redskins are having a competition of their own. Alex Smith is looking to reclaim the job he lost due to a gruesome leg injury, while Dwyane Haskins is looking to hold on to it. That doesn't end the competition as Kyle Allen and Steven Montez want the position and are clawing at the depth chart.

The Redskins have Newton's former head coach Ron Rivera, who many thought and still think will sign Cam and just hand him the starting job. Stripping Haskins of his control of the first string.

Gonzales wrote on the idea of the Redskins signing Newton: "After all, quarterback Dwayne Haskins is coming off a rough rookie campaign and his status as the No. 1 option would hardly be set in stone..."

Honestly, unless there is an injury or suspension; I don't see Cam suiting up this season. Not even in a back up roll. The Bears have their over priced backup and unless the dumpster fire in Cleveland or New York (Jets) decides to empty the bank account, nobody's that foolish to pay Cam the money he's going to want.

Redskins HC Ron Rivera Shares Thoughts On Signing Cam Newton

It was expected by many that Rivera and Newton would be a package deal in Washington. Newton's only really played for coach Rivera, However "Super" Cam is still a free agent.

Rivera beat around the subject and hinted he had his quarterbacks but gave no real answer on Good Morning Football this Thursday. 

“You know, the thing about Cam really is the situation …We’re in a situation where we’ve got two really young quarterbacks, one that’s been with us, been in the system, understands how we want things done and the other one is a guy who was taken last year in the first round and shows some promise.I think with Cam, and I have thought about it, I mean, it’s something that’s run through my mind, and it’s about the situation and circumstances. I’m not sure I would do it. I’m not sure if I wouldn’t do it. It depends on circumstances.”

According to Hunter Noll of clutch point "The Redskins already have Dwayne Haskins. The 22-year-old had an up-and-down rookie season in 2019, but it ended on a high note where his on-field performance was concerned."

Rivera already signed one former Panthers' quarterback, in Allen.  Newton still being a free agent this late into the off season will effectively lower his asking price, if Rivera or anyone else wants to take the risk. 

Newton is one of four starters still waiting on the free agent market, along with Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, and Blake Bortles. 

The Redskins appear to already have their starter and backup quarterback locked up. The odds of them bringing in Newton appear low but as former Falcons HC Jerry Glanville used to say "You know what NFL stands for Not For Long!" ; NFL roster are ever evolving.

One could make the case, the reason these four have not been added to a quarterback room, is because it's about quality over quantity.

Cam Newton Playing for Pete Carroll would be interesting but as Gary Myers has shown us, Rumors don't mean anything.

Cam Newton to the Seahawks? At this point Whinny players can't be choosy, if they wanna work in the NFL.

Jeremy  Fowler of ESPN said Newton isn't going to get paid in Seattle but the team might still allow him to play in some fashion, although Wilson is the starter.

"The Seahawks would be open to adding Newton — they get more creative with the free-agent market than most — but wouldn’t pay much for a backup quarterback. Maybe that doesn’t matter to Newton, who can prioritize fit over contract as he attempts to reignite his career. He would fit seamlessly in Seattle’s offense, and starting jobs simply aren’t available."

Newton is still available because the Draft is over and Teams have their starting quarterbacks. This isn't surprising due to the time of the football year. 

Seattle doesn't need Newton, they have Wilson, and they could find anyone to hold a clipboard. So if Newton cannot get on board with the Idea of standing on the sideline (like he stated) and being the man to prep the defense for the next opponent, he might as well look to the north. 

Per Maximo Gonzales, "Newton has reportedly suggested that he is not looking to serve as an immediate backup in the 2020 NFL season."

Will Newton listen to his former tight end Greg Olsen and go to Seattle? Just how much is Olsen lobbying for the Birds of the north west to sign Newton anyways?

Newton is not going to be on a team, get paid, and play, if he's looking for all three; he'll sit out during 2020 and it's the same if he's just looking to get paid. His best bet is to negotiate a contract that requires the team to get creative and use him a few snaps a game. That could be something Seattle would be interested in. 

Sports fans stay tuned and Remember Supercam is just a man, maybe he goes play in Korea, Japan, or the CFL in another land.

Cam Newton: Why it's not ridiculous the former NFL MVP is still a free agent

Cam Newton came into the NFL in 2011. Since then he has only posted three winning seasons. Newton went 0-2 in 2019 before getting hurt, Cam has missed 19 games over his career. His previous three seasons he went 6-8, 11-5, 6- 8. Newton's record is only 68-55 as a starter. Minus his three winning seasons and he's 30 and 45 as a starter.

Newton has a 59.6 career completion percentage. He has also thrown double digit interceptions every year he's been in the league, except 2019 because he didn't play but still threw 1. Newton threw 107 interceptions his first 8 years. ***Update he also had 55 fumbles over that span***

Clutch Points' Sam Teets reported "On Mar. 24, 2020, the Carolina Panthers released Cam Newton, clearing $19.1 million in cap space. Newton became a cap casualty on a rebuilding football team, which is understandable."

With everything I just said, there are people like Teete in the world who just can't phantom why a guy who only had three winning seasons isn't on a team.

Everyone is still looking back to Newton's one good year where he went 15-1 and won the MVP on his way to a superbowl loss.

Newton is coming off an Injury but with everything I have listed, the injury is just one more thing on a list of negatives for the former first round quarterback. This is like Newton's third injury.

Teete talked about Newton's accuracy in 2018 but the quarterback has only had 3 seasons out of 8 where he went over 60% completion percentage.

Teete wrote "Cam Newton is also only two years removed from the second-best season of his career. In 2018, he completed 67.9% of his pass attempts for 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 14 games. If Newton can match those numbers in 2020, he could easily start for several teams."

Sure Newton could start in New England, Washington, or Chicago but he has just as much a chance of going 6-10; as much the guys on the current rosters do. With exception to 2015, Cam has been a first round bust but would've been decent as a third or fourth round selection.

The only way Cam makes a roster at the moment is if he takes a pay cut and accepts that he will be a back up. Meaning Newton will have to put his ego aside.

So while it's ridiculous to Teete why Newton isn't on a team, once everyone looks past the fandom; the reason Newton isn't on a roster is clear. He hasn't produced like a first rounder or elite quarterback. At 31, Cam is an average quarterback, who is very well looking at the near end of his career.