Cam Newton is returning to the Patriots on a team-friendly, one-year contract. And many in New England are up in arms by the decision.
Newton was a modest 7-8 as the team’s starting quarterback last season, and certainly didn’t overwhelm the majority of Patriot fans who grew used to Tom Brady leading New England to the playoffs. Newton and the Patriots, of course, missed the postseason for the first time since 2008 last season.
It prompted many to have a negative reaction to the news regarding Newton’s return. That wasn’t the case from everyone, though, as ESPN’s Monday Night Football analyst Louis Riddick seemed to be among those happy New England is giving the former NFL MVP another chance.
“Cam signed late in the process last year, was coming off injury, learning an entirely new system (with) entirely new terminology without any offseason work in the system, no legit perimeter weapons, got COVID, missed a lot of practice time … BUT most of you miss that. Interesting,” Riddick tweeted Friday.
“This year will be a much more accurate sample of where he is at this point in his career. I’ll reserve my judgment until then, knowing what I know about the challenges he faced in 2020,” Riddick added.
Riddick isn’t the only one who seems to feel that way either.
A number of Patriot players, including receiver Julian Edelman, are among those looking forward to Newton getting another chance. Newton confirmed his return in an Instagram post.
The signal-caller will return on a modest $5 million base salary with numerous, perhaps hard-to-hit incentives making his contract worth up to $14 million.
