Skip Bayless likes the New England Patriots’ decision to sign Cam Newton — up to a point.
“I thought it was finally a very good move by Bill Belichick,” Bayless said Monday on FS1’s “Undisputed.” “But I still don’t think they will be a very good team.”
The Patriots on Sunday reportedly agreed to a one-year, incentive-laden contract with Newton, who was released by the Carolina Panthers in March. It’ll be fascinating to see how much gas the 31-year-old quarterback has left in the tank after battling multiple injuries over the past few seasons.
Bayless, who has been fairly critical of New England’s offseason, explained he believes the Patriots could go 9-7 with Newton as their starting quarterback. This represents an improvement over the 4-12 record Bayless projected for New England with second-year signal-caller Jarrett Stidham running the offense.
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“I will give you this: Cam is the perfect possible replacement for Tom Brady,” Bayless said. “Cam Newton will not be afraid of that challenge. There are only a handful of quarterbacks who could step into those shoes in Foxboro, Mass., and be OK with the pressure of it. And I’m talking about Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers and maybe Patrick Mahomes now and maybe Russell Wilson, maybe.”
I thought this was finally a very good move by Bill Belichick. I was looking at a 4-12 Patriots team, I believe Cam could make them 9-7. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/Xr1ILVocSI
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 29, 2020
All told, Bayless still is confident that Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will win more games than the Patriots this season. So while he might believe Newton is the “perfect” replacement for TB12, one evidently shouldn’t misinterpret Bayless’ praise for him being back on New England’s bandwagon in 2020.
