New England long was viewed as a great landing spot for Cam Newton, as the Patriots were one of the few teams that could give the veteran quarterback a real chance to start.
Newton very well could win the starting signal-caller gig in Foxboro, but even if he does, Colin Cowherd isn’t sure how much the 2015 NFL MVP would be able to make of the opportunity.
Plenty of uncertainty surrounded the Patriots after the franchise lost a handful of starters in free agency. More question marks have been added over the past week after eight New England players opted out of the 2020 season. And on top of all of those departures, New England’s offensive arsenal isn’t exactly packed to the gills with high-end talent.
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As such, Cowherd believes Newton is receiving a raw deal with the Patriots.
“Cam Newton is getting absolutely hosed,” Cowherd said Monday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “So, Cam Newton got no OTAs, he got no preseason snaps. …They are an injury or two away from being a bottom-five roster in the NFL. This is not a good football team. I can’t be critical of Cam. We have to literally reboot our expectations for Cam. Nobody in the league, including Patrick Mahomes, could win with this football team. This is an improved division. You’re losing key, heady veterans.
“I’ve been as critical of Cam as anybody. It’s time to reboot our expectations. This is not a good football team. There are no dynamic playmakers, they don’t have a tight end of note. …There’s no OTAs, no camp, no preseason. If Cam can throw for a couple thousand yards, stays healthy, focused — good, there you go. But this is now eight opt-outs. … So, c’mon now. This is a bad team in an improved division, Cam’s splitting snaps — we have to be fair here.”
"It's time to reboot our expectations for Cam Newton… This is a bad roster. It's not going to be a good season in New England." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/t9A4ZRwPVQ
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 3, 2020
Newton’s supporting cast isn’t elite, but one has to imagine the three-time Pro Bowl selection would rather work with what he has in New England than stand on the sidelines elsewhere. It’s also entirely possible that some of the Patriots’ young and inexperienced players level up in 2020.
Is Newton going to set the world on fire this season? Probably not. But it might not be doomsday in Foxboro like Cowherd seems to believe.
