Who NFL Analyst Believes Will Be Patriots’ Starting Quarterback Next Season

Cam Newton likely will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season, but New England’s future at the position beyond the current campaign is uncertain.

While it probably shouldn’t be completely ruled out, it’s tough to envision Newton returning for another go-around in Foxboro. The 2015 NFL MVP is on a one-year deal, and he seemingly hasn’t done enough for the Patriots to want him back. But even if Newton puts together a monster second half, he’ll likely find a more appealing job elsewhere in the offseason.

So, who will be under center for New England at the start of the 2021 season? Ryan Clark believes it will be an old friend of the Patriots.

“It’s going to be Jimmy Garoppolo,” Clark said Wednesday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “The San Francisco 49ers understand his injury history. I think they try to move on and go to a different place at quarterback there. They believe they’ve hit their ceiling with who he is and Jimmy Garoppolo goes back. That’s Bill Belichick’s guy anyway. He doesn’t want him to be special. He wants him to be his dude and I think that’s where Jimmy Garoppolo is a starting quarterback next year. Bill Belichick doesn’t want to totally rebuild, but he’ll start over with something he’s familiar with.”

It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Patriots pursue a veteran quarterback this offseason. New England probably won’t be in position to draft Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields, and it has the salary cap space and draft capital to facilitate a trade or marquee free-agent signing.

Clark’s prediction certainly is more realistic than the one unleashed by his colleague, Dominique Foxworth. The fellow NFL defensive back-turned-analyst believes Andrew Luck will come out of retirement to join the Patriots next season.