Countless media members and football fans alike viewed the Patriots’ signing of Cam Newton as a home run.
Colin Cowherd isn’t ready to go there just yet.
While New England adding Newton made plenty of sense on paper, Cowherd isn’t sold on the veteran quarterback succeeding in Foxboro. “The Herd” host believes there are multiple factors at play that will make it awfully tough for Newton, who’s coming off a pair of serious injuries, to thrive in 2020.
“The media has hailed this a success. He hasn’t had a practice yet,” Cowherd said Monday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “Oh, by the way, I’m reading this morning we have no OTAs and the preseason is down to two games and it may get eliminated. So, Cam Newton in New England, no preseason, no OTAs, never taken a snap, go ahead and play against an improving division.”
Cowherd continued: “Cam Newton’s beat up. There’s no OTAs, preseason got cut in half. There’s another quarterback that’s taken all the snaps. I don’t have New England’s playbook, but I imagine it’s fairly complicated because everything Belichick does is complicated. There’s a real chance Cam won’t even start the season, may not start in September. There is a massive gap between media and reality on Cam, and I think a lot of it is the media likes style. We like narratives, we like stories.”
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"Randy Moss is the most talented receiver in NFL history. Cam Newton wasn't the most talented QB in his division. Let's slow down." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/vSBcIbsQd9
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 6, 2020
Sure, it remains to be seen if Newton will make a positive impact with the Patriots this season, but it’s not as if Belichick and Co. went to great lengths to sign the 2015 NFL MVP. New England landed Newton on a considerable discount, so if he ends up flaming out, it will come at little cost. And should Newton return to Pro Bowl form, it effectively would be an act of thievery by the Patriots.
So while the odds might be stacked against Newton, it sure feels like a move worth making.
