Trying To Answer The Questions The Cam Newton Signing Has Arisen

It would be safe to say this has been the most boring NFL off-season possibly ever. No mini-camps, no OTAs, no story lines but if and when the NFL season would be played and how it would look.

As far as news on the Patriots front? Silent. The most newsworthy stories as of late have been Mohamed Sanu's training videos in Atlanta and my own recent discovery that Xavien Howard allowed more touchdowns than virtually the entire Patriots secondary. That changed last night as Cam Newton finally ended his free agency and signed with the Patriots.

In the hysteria of adding another quarterback, there was more questions than answers that came from the signing of the former NFL MVP.

-Does this mean the Patriots don't feel confident in Stidham?

-Why did we sign Cam after we passed on every QB in the draft and Free Agency?

-Why did we sign Cam after we were told that the Patriots had no interest in him?

-Was Cam guaranteed a starting job considering he said he would rather sit out than be a backup?

-Is Cam even healthy anymore?

We can never predict or truly understand the Patriots. Who could have seen this move coming? But we can try to infer and explain moves they make with the details that follow.

Stidham's place on the team and as the presumed starter has to be the biggest question from the signing. Jeff Howe in his piece last night on the Newton signing said this in relation to Jarrett Stidham,

"A source also implied the signing of Newton has nothing to do with Stidham's performance"

"The Patriots' logic here is they heightened the talent pool in the quarterback competition. If Stidham staves off his fellow Auburn alum, it'll further the notion that he is ready for the job."

*BIG sigh of relief*

If you like Stidham or not, if you think Cam is the guy or not, if that report is true, it should make you feel much better about the signing. The Patriots passed on every QB in the draft and free agency and we have spent all Summer mentally prepping for the Jarrett Stidham era of New England just to have another QB added to the depth chart right before camp.

If the Patriots were not bringing Cam in for those reasons, it would be cause for concern. That would have told us that Stidham is not as ready and prepared as we have been led on to believe. It would have revealed the Pats are taking a shot at the single last viable option in the QB pool with Cam Newton, if we didn't have the reassurance that Cam was brought on NOT because of Jarrett Stidham.

We know the Bill Belichick run Patriots are going to compete. Things don't seem like they will be taken slow around here, and any more grooming or bridging will be done for Stidham. He is going to compete just like Cam or Hoyer will.

Cam's contract details matters a lot in trying to understand this signing. He is, as stated above, getting the bare minimum deal.

This tells us:

-There was little to no market for Cam Newton outside of New England

-The Patriots are as confident in everyone else about Cam's arm and injury history with a completely incentive based deal

-It is a deal to compete, not to start

While Patriots fans might tell you different, no where has Cam been promised the starting job. He is as big of a question mark as anyone else in the QB room is at the moment.

After his injury last season and the Panthers failed to find a trade partner, he was released. It has been reported that he has had to change his throwing motion. There can not be an overwhelming sense of confidence in that. We just have no idea how healthy Cam is. Luckily for us, the deal is perfectly worked so that if he is fried, we don't come out on the losing end. It is a low risk, high reward signing and it is hard to be upset about that.

Final Thoughts:

Cam Newton is a former MVP, leagues top player, all of that, but times change in the NFL very quick. It is ignorant to say Cam is the same Cam we knew from a few years ago. His performance last season and the way he was dealt with this offseason prove that. Throw out all the Super Cam and CaMVP talk out the window for the moment because it is back to square one fighting for the job like anybody else in the QB room. You can say "he's a dawg" or "he has a chip on his shoulder", that's great, he needs to prove it because there has been nothing shown in the last calendar year that Cam Newton is a starting QB in the NFL.

Personally, I view this signing as a move to provide real competition to Jarrett Stidham for the starting job. We know it's not anybodies job until it's earned on a Bill Belichick team, especially in June. Jarrett Stidham already has a head start on him being acclimated with the Patriots for going on two years now. This move to me feels like a Demaryius Thomas, Jeremy Hill, Jamie Collins, kind of deal rather than a Randy Moss, Stephon Gilmore kind of deal. A contract extended to a veteran on a small deal to hopefully capture their high ceiling for a season and that player can revitalize their career. Seems to me more like a move to add depth to a position that might need it, while also providing competition to the one we have heard so highly of all off-season.

The speculation that Cam is going to be a 16 game starter seems to be from the fact it is Cam Newton alone. It is just impossible to know where he is talent wise at this stage in his career. This move is as big as a signing of Case Keenum or Colt McCoy, but because of the stature of Newton, it is getting the attention of something more.

If Cam doesn't make the final roster cuts, I won't be surprised. If he starts week one, I won't be surprised either. Anything is possible with the New England Patriots. It is going to be a fun journey to the regular season.

(Cover image swap by e.swaps)