First broke by Jim McBride, the Patriots are re-signing Cam Newton to a 1-year $14M contract.
Oh boy, on first thoughts, I’m not happy about this. I was more than satisfied heading into the Draft with just Stidham as the sole QB on the roster, but now, Cam is returning for a second season with the team.
Firstly, I question why the team has paid him more than his contract last year, I don’t feel he did anything to justify that, although $14M is still a low number for a starting QB. Secondly, I don’t think we’re any better off with Cam than any other veteran signing, but at least with a Mariota or a Fitzpatrick, it would have been different.
Now, first thoughts aside and thinking a little bit more about this, it still doesn’t rule out further trade/FA/Draft moves for another QB option, I think the sour taste some of us are experiencing is coming from the fact that we already know what we get with Cam, and it isn’t great.
It’s going to be an exciting next 7 days as free agency is about to drop, but man, I really don’t like this move. I really hope the team pushes big in FA interest next week, otherwise, we’re going to be in for another lackluster season.
Miguel at @PatsCap hasn’t had the chance to look at the breakdown of the contract yet either, so for all we know, it could be another incentive-laden deal.