Most of the New England Patriots’ veteran quarterback options were taken off the board as NFL free agency got underway.
A new one became readily available last week, however.
The Carolina Panthers released Cam Newton shortly after signing Teddy Bridgewater to a lucrative three-year deal. Newton as of Monday remains a free agent despite the fact that several teams across the league theoretically could use his services.
One of those teams is the Patriots, whose current QB depth chart is mediocre at best. Mike Greenberg, for one, believes New England is the most interesting of all of Newton’s potential landing spots.
“…As we speak, the quarterback room in New England consists of Brian Hoyer, Cody Kessler and Jarrett Stidham,” Greenberg said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Stidham has thrown four passes in his life and the other two are journeymen. With all due respect to them, that’s all that they are. If the New England Patriots are entertaining thoughts of accomplishing anything of consequence this season, I strongly doubt that that is the quarterback room they’re anticipating. Now, you hear little whispers about them possibly trying to get Matt Stafford. Maybe they try and make a really dramatic move in the draft. I’m interested to see what they do, but I can’t imagine they’re going to stand pat with what they have.
“To give Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels the opportunity to try and play with the weapon that Cam Newton has the potential to be if he is healthy is a very intriguing one. So, if New England decides that he is a worthwhile roll of the dice, then that, to me, would by far be the most interesting possibility that’s out there for Cam.”
While Newton reportedly didn’t draw “immediate interest” from the Patriots, one NFL analyst isn’t yet ready to completely rule out the possibility of the 2015 NFL MVP heading to Foxboro. After all, Newton has enjoyed a fair amount of success against New England over the course of his career.