Over the last few years, there hasn't been much reason to talk about Cam Newton and his brief stint with the Patriots beyond reflecting on how far they have come since Mike Vrabel was hired last offseason and seemingly finding the rightful successor to Tom Brady when they drafted Drake Maye.
His presence did unfortunately become a topic of conversation for the former quarterback, however, and not in a good way either. With the rise of Newton's podcast, "4th & 1," and his appearances on ESPN programming, he has begun talking about the NFL and has a lot of opinions on quarterbacks, especially Maye, which has frustrated Patriots fans.
Newton has made it clear that he didn't see all the hype around the 23-year-old and has expressed plenty of pessimism about his future in the league. That inevitably made the former signal-caller public enemy No. 1 in New England, well after many fans defended the argument that he wasn't set up for success during his lone starting season under Bill Belichick.
So surely, some of those fans were not at all too sympathetic when it was announced that Newton was laid off by ESPN earlier this week, and that likely only deepened once they heard his initial comments about the situation, as he said one of the most surprising yet not entirely shocking things about the Patriots in connection to his firing.
Cam Newton unexpectedly mentions the Patriots in response to being laid off by ESPN
In the midst of ESPN's annual layoffs, Newton was one of the names that drew the most attention and immediate feedback, much of which wasn't all that pleasant.
Some Patriots fans were quick to dance on his grave, citing his negative takes and unnecessary critique of Maye as their reason for enjoyment, which surely only grew after hearing what he had to say about his final days with the Patriots.
Newton said he wasn't exactly shocked that the television network let him go, expressing gratitude for the opportunity and all that he learned. And he claims that what prepared him for a difficult situation like that was his last day with the Patriots when he was let go, sharing that being released by the team was the last time he was surprised by anything business-related.
“The day Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick released me from the New England Patriots was the day that nothing else could surprise me in business, and I’m grateful that I have that to be able to refer to because not a lot of people are able to say I’ve been there before.”
While he might be telling the truth that it was the last time he was surprised in his career, it is interesting that, given how things went during the 2021 offseason, he would have been shocked over the Patriots' decision to move on from him.
They had used their first-round draft pick on Mac Jones earlier in the year, and reports had been claiming for months that the rookie was taking to Josh McDaniels' offense much more easily than Newton and was beating the veteran for the starting role.
That continued until it was time to make roster cuts, so Belichick's decision to have Jones as QB1 was one of the least shocking things of the offseason, but apparently, not to Newton.
Regardless, his insistence that the last time he was genuinely shocked by something with his career was when that happened is surprising, yet feels like an intentional point to make as an opportunity to take another shot at the Patriots, intentional or subconscious.
Fortunately, Newton and the team are in a better spot five years later and are hoping to continue thriving in their current positions. The Patriots want to keep their Super Bowl window open, and although Newton disagrees, anything feels possible with Maye under center.
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