Cam Newton: The Good And Bad of The Patriots First Free Agent Transaction

With each passing day, the Patriots neared closer and closer to accepting the reality that whoever the 2021 starter was, they will probably be mediocre at best. It is a tough pill to swallow after having the QB position stable for 20 years, but Cam might just be the best option for New England.

Fan's unrest for the lack of action taken by Bill Belichick and Co. at the QB position isn't unwarranted. Matt Stafford, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, have all been traded or rumored to have been shopped while the Patriots stood by watching and chose to go with the man in-house.

None of these moves really were truly a smart, logical option to make knowing the price they'd have to pay.

This would turn New England's quarterback hunt to free agency, where Cam's 1 year $14 million dollar deal might speak to the market more than anything.

Average is most likely the ceiling for the Patriots at QB. Dak Prescott was never an option, so what does that leave us with? The answer is an extremely lackluster group of passers. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith, Mitch Trubisky, Tyrod Taylor just to name a few. So when you are stuck at average, what it looks like the Patriots are doing is trying to bolster every other position on the team. That is where I think Cam Newton's most attractive feature comes in.

Quite opposite of the QB free agent pool is the loaded group of free-agent pass catchers and skill players. If you are Curtis Samuel, Kenny Golladay, Jonnu Smith, Corey Davis, would you rather come to New England to play with Cam Newton or any of the QB's listed above? Cam Newton should overwhelmingly be the answer.

Cam has an infectious personality. We saw that all year. There are countless testimonies about Cam as a leader, teammate, and man. Even from Bill Belichick.

"Bill Belichick’s praise for Cam Newton throughout the 2020 season wasn’t an act. Multiple sources who have spoken with Belichick this offseason said he does nothing but rave about Newton and the effort the quarterback put forth in 2020." - Ben Volin

He was named team captain by his peers after only being in the building for two months. Even though his play in the last few seasons hasn't been to the Cam Newton standard, the aura around Cam Newton is great enough to make him someone player will want to play with.

If the Patriots can turn Cam into getting Curtis Samuel for multiple years, that is a much better alternative than trading for Marcus Mariota and hoping to win a bidding war for a pass catcher.

Drafting a QB in the early rounds is not out of the question either. To be honest, I would be more surprised if the Patriots left the 2021 draft without a quarterback. Cam may have the deal and big contract, but the Pats are still searching for their long-term solution and clearly, Cam hasn't proved himself to be able to play every down of every game.

There is no denying Newton's last season in Foxboro was unsatisfactory. He was pulled three times, came up short in multiple games, and was one of the worst deep ball throwers in the league. According to PFF, Cam had only 29 attempts, the fewest among QBs who started more than 12 games. On top of that, his deep rate target was second-lowest in the league at 7.9%.

But it wasn't all bad. Before Cam contracted COVID-19, he was 15/19 passing against the Dolphins as they bullied their way to 1-0. The next week, he had his best game of the season throwing for 397 yards against the Seahawks. The most passing yards in a game for The Pats since Brady in Super Bowl 52. Then in week 17, he had a three-touchdown game against the Jets, being his only multiple passing TD game of the season.

Three games aren't enough to bet on someone after what we saw in the other 12, but Belichick is. He is giving Cam a chance to hit the reset button and experience a real NFL season, with traditional camp, OTA's, and preseason. These are the excuses Cam has gotten all season long. Now Cam will enter the season with a better team, better weapons (fingers crossed), and more time to be acclimated in Foxboro.

Welcome to the chaos.