The marriage between Cam Newton and the New England Patriots looks like it'll last just one season as the two sides are expected to part ways this offseason, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Newton signed with the Patriots last summer in the wake of Tom Brady's departure from the franchise at the start of free agency and the partnership hasn't been as productive as both sides had hoped. At 6-9 on the season, the Patriots are simply playing out Week 17 and are set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
This parting of ways doesn't look like it'll be a messy one from both a cap and relationship perspective. Newton was under a one-year deal with the club and once free agency opens up later this spring, he'll be free to pursue other opportunities and New England will be free to search for their next starting quarterback. As CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora noted in late December, Newton has earned respect around New England and the staff really likes him. That has been evident throughout the year with Bill Belichick routinely complimenting him and holding firm as his starter, despite the quarterback's struggles passing.
While Newton's passing numbers are less than desirable, the quarterback was productive with his feet, rushing for 12 touchdowns through New England's first 16 games which tied a franchise single-season record. Not having much time this offseason to fully immerse himself in New England's system due to COVID-19 was also a speed bump Newton wishes he could have avoided.
"My only regret was I wish I had more time to dissect what I was actually getting in to," Newton told reporters this week when asked what he wished had gone differently for the Patriots in 2020. "I've been in this league long enough to kind of always downplay, like, 'Man, we don't need preseason. We don't need OTAs. We're ready to go.' Yeah, maybe if I was still in the system I came from. But learning this system, you just need more time, you need more real reps to kind of go through because there's only but so much you can kind of make up.
"You could put the eyelashes on. You could do your eyebrows. You could put your lipstick on. The mascara and the lip liner. But sooner or later, it's going to rain and the real true you will show. And unfortunately it showed -- not necessarily in ways that I wanted to."
With Newton, a potential reunion with Ron Rivera, his former coach with the Carolina Panthers, down in Washington will likely be a link that gains steam throughout this offseason. As for New England, they could go in a multitude of directions as they'll have one of the highest draft picks that they've had in recent memory and are projected to have the fourth-most cap space in the league this offseason.
