A star quarterback appears to be very much available, and one former NFL player believes the Patriots should take a chance.
There no longer is a fit in Carolina for Cam Newton, as the Panthers made quite the investment this offseason in Teddy Bridgewater and now reportedly are releasing Newton. As for New England, question marks surround the starting quarterback position after Tom Brady elected to leave the franchise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
Dominique Foxworth believes Newton could fill that void, as the former cornerback can’t help but imagine what the sharp football minds in Foxboro could get out of the 2015 NFL MVP.
“I still like the idea of Cam Newton going there, because I think Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels understand the way the direction of the quarterback position is going and they want an opportunity,” Foxworth said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “They’ve kind of been, I guess — golden handcuffs — but handcuffed, so to speak, in having Tom Brady with no athleticism back there. I think I would enjoy the idea of seeing Bill Belichick, who’s a football historian, going into the archives and coming up with some plays that utilize Cam Newton’s athleticism.”
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Newton doesn’t appear to be the only quarterback with multiple Pro Bowl selections to his credit available. Andy Dalton’s days in Cincinnati likely are numbered as the Bengals usher in the Joe Burrow era.
But given the current state the Patriots find themselves in, Foxworth believes it could be worth it.
“I don’t think paying either one of those guys in the teens of millions for one season would be that bad for the Patriots,” Foxworth said. “I think that would be an improvement. If they’re looking to make a title run this year, I’m not sure you can do it with Brian Hoyer, who’s been all around the league. He’s obviously not a franchise quarterback and the only memory we have of Jarrett Stidham is that he played so poorly that he couldn’t even close out a blowout. Bill Belichick had to take him out and put Tom Brady back in. It doesn’t mean he’s not going to grow into something, but it’s hard for me to have confidence in this team going forward considering their losses on defense and obviously, they lose the greatest quarterback of all time and replace him with guys who no one has a ton of faith in just yet.”
Peter King likely would co-sign Foxworth’s take, as he believes New England still could poke around the veteran quarterback market even after signing Hoyer.
