Cam Newton And Bill Belichick Could Be Failed Marriage For Patriots

Cam Newton enters the 2020 season as a member of the New England Patriots with one thing on his mind: redemption.

A common theme in many of Newton’s recent videos across social media have been the idea of reviving his career. He’s even gone so far as to post one video in which he insinuates that the Carolina Panthers “left him to die” after he was released by the franchise after nine seasons.

With that anger comes plenty of motivation. After all, despite being a former league MVP, Newton was a free agent until the very end of June. To top things off, Newton’s only contract offer came from the Patriots — a one-year minimum deal worth $1.05 million with just $550,000 of that guaranteed.

While Newton could earn as much as $7.5 million on this current deal, it is a rather far-fetched number. As much as $1 million in bonuses would be earned from winning a total of four playoff games while $500,000 would be earned from an All-Pro or Pro Bowl nod each.

Furthermore, the contract is heavily incentivized by playing time. Newton could earn a maximum of $3.75 million based upon playing time, but that would require taking 90 percent of the snaps along with the Patriots actually making the playoffs. While New England does have a current stretch of 11 consecutive postseason berths, they face an uphill battle in just making it to the playoffs this season. Especially when you factor in that as many as eight Patriots have opted out for the 2020 season.

While the idea of Newton reviving his career with the Patriots would certainly be one of the top storylines of the season, one has to remember that it’s not exactly etched in stone.

Outside of the fact that the Patriots feature a gutted roster for the upcoming season and an absolutely abysmal receiving corps, Newton isn’t a shoe-in to be the starting quarterback this season; in fact, his contract indicates that the Patriots could cut ties with Newton at any moment with almost no financial obligation.

Prior to New England surprisingly signing Newton, the Patriots were very high on 2019 fourth-round draft pick Jarrett Stidham. In fact, feedback was so positive surrounding Stidham that every indication signaled that the Patriots were comfortable in moving on from six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady with the University of Auburn product as their starting quarterback.

Despite the fact that the Patriots brought back veteran QB Brian Hoyer for a third stint in New England, it almost appeared to be a given that Stidham would start Week 1 — until the Patriots unexpectedly signed Newton.

After reading this, you’re probably wondering why the Patriots would sign a 31-year-old veteran QB in Newton if they didn’t plan on going all-in on him as the starting quarterback this season.

It’s quite simple why Bill Belichick and the Patriots signed Newton — to create competition. It also doesn’t help matters that the 23-year-old Stidham — even if he has put in work with his teammates this offseason — is entering the 2020 campaign without the luxury of typical offseason activities such as minicamp, OTA’s and a conventional training camp and preseason due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Why would you enter a season with a young quarterback with four career passes entrenched as the starting QB from Week 1 onward without a backup plan? Newton is that backup plan, whether people realize it or not.

The ideal plan is to still start Stidham when it’s all said and done, with Newton representing the emergency plan if the young quarterback isn’t quite ready to handle the reins over a 16-game season. It is the very reason the Patriots were comfortable in allowing Tom Brady to walk.

It also doesn’t help matters that Newton is coming from an environment in Carolina in which he was nurtured. That won’t be the case in New England where Belichick has carved out a reputation for being hard on players — even guys like Brady.

Defensive tackle Kyle Love — who played for both the Panthers (2014-2019) and Patriots (2010-2012) — commented on how Belichick’s hard-nosed nature may lead to Newton’s demise in New England considering it’s not what Newton is used to.

“This is just my opinion, but I don’t feel like Cam can take the pressure of coaches talking down about his play,” Love told the Boston Herald. “If he had a bad game in Carolina, the coaching staff wouldn’t say much to him because they may have felt he could be a little frail about it or maybe pout. They never really corrected to the point Bill used to correct Tom.”

“Bill’s going to be Bill, and he’s going to let Cam know how he feels no matter what,” Love said. “Everybody is treated equal, and I actually love that about Bill because that let the whole team know you’re going to be held accountable.”

While many don’t see Newton as the “backup plan” due to the allure of Newton re-emerging as a star in New England, there was a reason he was unsigned deep into the offseason — no one wanted him because he was seen as damaged goods. As dazzling as Newton’s resume is, he is a 31-year-old quarterback who is 0-8 in his last eight starts and is coming off of two consecutive season-ending injuries.

Newton is receiving a second chance in New England. The problem is, no one is going to be putting him on a pedestal. Furthermore, he’s entering a situation where not only will he have to win the quarterback job in training camp, he’s not even entering as the preferred option; that would be Stidham due to his youth.

There are many factors at play here. Whether it’s the questionable chemistry between Belichick and Newton, Newton’s recent play and injury history, his overly incentivized contract or the looming presence of the future franchise QB in Stidham, Newton isn’t exactly entering a “Cinderella Story” narrative in New England.

While the opportunity to succeed is there, the opportunity to fail — and become obscure like so many others have in New England — is a lot more likely than the former.