Cam Newton not getting a fair evaluation further complicates everything

Patriots QB Cam Newton isn’t getting evaluated fairly and it’s a problem.

At this point, every New England Patriots fan knows that Cam Newton isn’t the problem with this offense. You saw the numbers. Tom Brady, up until about a few weeks ago at this point last year, was having just as unproductive of a season from an efficiency standpoint. There’s a reason he left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Then you install Newton into this offense with even fewer weapons thanks to opt outs, free agency departures and injuries. The former MVP is a completely different quarterback and barely played in 2019, so on what planet were we going to get a fair evaluation of the guy, especially during a season surrounded by the COVID-19 pandemic?

We were never going to! And that only complicates things further for Newton and the Patriots, both as a single entity and separate ones.

Everyone’s laughing that Brady is enjoying a successful season in Tampa Bay while the Patriots are withering away, but we know what would happen if Newton had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, Ronald Jones and a stacked offensive line to work with. He’d be fine. That’s all any Patriots fan was talking about last year! “Give Brady weapons! What are you doing?”

What was an excuse for Brady cannot be an indictment for Newton.

But it’s especially bad for the Patriots because after Brady’s very uninspiring 2019, Newton’s awful 2020, and the unwillingness to give Jarrett Stidham snaps, there’s really no clear path forward. Newton’s free agency is naturally going to take even more of a hit because he didn’t really prove much. The Patriots probably don’t know if it’s worth to retain Newton, even with their deficiencies on offense, because of everything that was stacked against him heading into this season. Like we said, no proper evaluation in the slightest.

One year isn’t long enough to determine if someone can grasp an entirely new offensive system. This current crop of talent on offensive isn’t enough to thrust a young QB or rookie into the fire and trust the results. To put it simply, the Patriots are between the biggest rock ever and the hardest place ever.

That’s why both Newton and the Patriots are in such a predicament. Perhaps a reunion for 2021 under different circumstances is the only way to solve this.

Bill Belichick’s comments on not starting Jarrett Stidham are telling

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's comments on not starting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham are telling.