Cam Newton and Bill Belichick could have a lot in common entering the 2020 season.
Newton, who reportedly has signed an “incentive-laden” deal with the New England Patriots, is expected to earn up to $7.5 million. The 2015 NFL MVP had just one other team interested in his services. Belichick, on the other hand, enters his first season without ex-Patriot quarterback Tom Brady behind center, perhaps looking to cement his worth.
Those circumstances have ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believing the Patriots have a perfectly compatible quarterback-coach tandem this year, in large part because of the motivation they’ll each be bringing to the field every week.
“I loved it because I know what a tremendous athlete Cam Newton is, I know how hungry he is to really shut up the naysayers that have questioned his level of greatness and what he’s produced throughout his career, and a combination of that, with not just the greatness of Bill Belichick but a highly-motivated Bill Belichick, who’s out to prove that he can indeed win without Tom Brady as his quarterback, I think all the stars have aligned. I love the idea of these two together,” Smith said on ESPN’s “Get Up!”
“… So, I’m excited for Cam Newton particularly since he’s highly-motivated and since so much about him has been questioned. Because him and Bill Belichick right now might be two of the top three most motivated people in the entire NFL, with Tom Brady, obviously, being in that top three as well.”
The dual-threat Newton will certainly bring a new skill set to the Patriots offense with the expectations of making New England’s skill position players better, as long as he wins the starting job, of course.
