It was only a few short months ago, March 13th to be exact, that I wrote a blog called “More Newton in New England.” If you recall, I condemned the signing of Cam Newton to a new deal after the dreadful season he had. If you want to read that, check it out here: https://www.blindowlblogs.com/post/more-newton-in-new-england
Well, if you live in New England and you haven’t heard the news, I don’t know what you’re even doing. As a matter of fact, I was explaining the rules of a game called shipwreck to a group of elementary students when I heard the news. Anyway, just in case you missed it, Cam Newton has been released from the New England Patriots.
This news comes after Newton started all 3 of the Patriots preseason games, and most “experts” saying that there was no doubt that he would be the starting QB for the Patriots against the Dolphins. Even on the broadcast of the last preseason game, color commentator and known Patriot boot licker Scott Zolak said, “There’s no doubt” that Newton would be the starter as the QB ran onto the field last Sunday evening. Well, so much for having insight Zo. Not only will Newton not be the starter, he isn’t even on the roster.
Of course after the news breaks, you have the idiots on social media saying that the Patriots are a “racist” organization for cutting Newton. Quite honestly, it would have been racist if they didn’t cut people based on their performance. And I don’t care what color you are, 8 TDs and 10 interceptions is horrendous.
The question then becomes, why did they cut Newton?
I mean, they just signed him to a new contract. And like Zolak said, he started every single preseason game. Most signs pointed to Newton at least starting week 1 over first round pick Mac Jones.
One of two things happened.
The first is that Newton and the Patriots had an agreement when they signed that contract in March that he would be the starter. If that wasn’t going to be the case, then they would cut him.
The second, and most likely, is that Patriots coach Bill Belichick told Cam that it was going to be a competition for the starting job. The better QB will then be pegged as the starter. As anyone with any brains can tell, Mac Jones clearly had the better camp. In the preseason games, all of the drives Jones started resulted in points. Not only that, but Jones just looked more in rhythm than Newton.
So, seeing all this, Belichick told Newton that he wasn’t going to be the starter. I’d like to think that Belichick then gave Newton the choice, either he sticks around as the backup, or he will be released and so he can try to sign somewhere else.
The main reason I think that the separation was more of a mutual decision than most players getting cut, is the way Newton responded. In a very 2021 way, Newton took to Instagram saying, "I really appreciate all the love and support during this time but I must say... Please don't feel sorry for me!!" Seems like a guy who likely just lost a competition for a position. Not only that, Cam added the hashtag #ImGood. So, he seems to have come to grips with it.
You have to at least respect the fact that he didn’t take the low road and call the team racist like some morons on Twitter.
And now that Newton’s time in Foxboro is over, where will he end up next? A lot of teams have been thrown around, the Cardinals, Ravens and Dolphins have all been discussed as likely landing spots for him.
The most likely spot for the former MVP QB in my opinion is Dallas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saw what happened last year when Dak Prescott went down, and clearly doesn’t want that to happen again. Having Newton on the roster would be a good short term insurance policy for the Cowboys. And we all know that Jerry loves signing big name free agents for America’s Team.
Whatever happens, New England fans are happy that the Cam Newton era is over and the Mac Jones era has begun. But, I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you Pats fans out there, but Mac Jones isn’t the second coming of Tom Brady. In fact, there will never be anyone like Tom Brady again. So, don’t turn on this kid because he doesn’t live up to your astronomical expectations. Just be happy your squad made the right decision. Unlike my Broncos, but that’s a story for another day.