Patriots: Do Bill Belichick’s angry Cam Newton answers mean anything for 2021?

Did we learn anything about Cam Newton’s future with the Patriots from head coach Bill Belichick’s postgame remarks?

Barring something truly unforeseen, the New England Patriots will miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons. It’s worth noting that they finished 11-5 that year (2008), so you can’t even compare that campaign to the rollercoaster ride that is 2020.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be insane to start looking ahead to the offseason, when general manager Bill Belichick will be forced to address a slew of burning roster question marks. The most significant of those is clearly the quarterback position, which seems to grow more complicated with each passing week.

The latest twist came during the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s blowout loss to the Rams,  when starter Cam Newton was pulled in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham in light of another rough performance.

After the game, Belichick was once again passive aggressive when he was asked if Newton would remain the starter for the rest of the season, cutting off the question for seemingly the nth time this season to give his answer.

We have a question of our own: Do these hostile responses mean that the Patriots are actually thinking about Newton being the guy in 2021 or is the 68-year-old just being petulant because he’s annoyed that he has to keep addressing this topic?

The worst part is that we have no idea. One thing is for certain, however, and that is Newton’s performance this season –regardless of the unfavorable circumstances he’s had to overcome — hasn’t exactly made a strong case for the Patriots to renew his one-year contract. Any extension would likely be a one-year bridge and not a path to certainty.

Through 12 games, Newton ranks in the bottom half of the league in completion percentage (66.1%), passing yards (2,172), yards per attempt (7.2) passing touchdowns (5), interceptions (10) and passer rating (78.9). The last time we checked, those numbers haven’t lived up to the Patriots’ lofty standards.

We know Belichick is notorious for his lack of etiquette during press conferences, but it would be nice if his aggressive answers about Newton started providing fans with a semblance of a clue as to whether the former MVP will remain with the Patriots beyond 2020, because that’s pretty important.

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