Many NFL fans can’t figure out why the Patriots haven’t considered replacing Tom Brady with Cam Newton. Sure, Jarrett Stidham could be the future, but why not take a flier on a 30-year-old former MVP for a season?
Well, the answer apparently isn’t that complicated.
Joe Person, a Panthers beat reporter for The Athletic, recently published a story in which he analyzed Newton’s current free agent market. Nestled within the piece was a nugget of information about New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who in January interviewed for Carolina’s head coaching vacancy.
From Person’s column:
Some observers have made a big deal of the nice things Bill Belichick said about Newton after he beat the Patriots in two regular-season meetings. That storyline seemed to be a little overblown. Plus, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wasn’t necessarily high on Newton when he was talking to the Panthers about their head coaching vacancy, according to a source.
Yeah, an offensive coordinator probably isn’t going to sign off on bringing in a quarterback he doesn’t believe in.
As for Stidham, all indications are the Patriots are awfully high on the sophomore signal-caller.
