Cam Newton brings hope to the New England Patriots

Cam Newton is happy but cautious after his arrival to the New England Patriots. The enthusiasm may come more from the fans after the official signing of former Carolina Panthers with the Boston team on July 8.

If the player to be replaced was not Tom Brady, Newton would surely be much more out of control, but no. On the contrary, he is aware of the difficult task of filling the void left by Brady. Of course, in his first press conference, he was emphatic: “I'm still… I don't want to say incredulous at this particular point, but it's a surreal moment. Nobody knows how excited I am, just to be a part of this organization" he said to ESPN.

As with the Panthers, the 31-year-old Cam will wear No. 1 on his jersey after 9 years at Carolina. "It's crazy, I saw myself putting the shirt on and I said, ' Oh my God!' I don't know when the moment will come, but at some point this will be normal ”.

Regarding coach Bill Belichick, the quarterback recalled that one of his first concerns was how he was going to get along with the veteran manager. “I would say there is a perception, but at the end of the day, it's just football. I love everything since I arrived. You hear rumors about certain things, but once you establish yourself, I just have to find a way to prove my worth in the team … " , he pointed out to ESPN.

Newton has reached a one-year deal with the Patriots for now. According to NFL.com, and in information reflected by Marca , the salary would be 7.5 million dollars.

Hard challenge

For those who do not remember, Newton was the first overall draft selection in 2011 but one thing is the Panthers and another to be a reference of the most successful team in the NFL in the 21st century, with six Vince Lombardi trophies and nine appearances in the Super Bowl .

Cam's arrival in Foxboro only shows that owner Robert Kraft and Belichik himself remain adamant about maintaining the dynasty, especially in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. So they are betting on a talented and experienced quarterback of nine years in a move to strengthen the position and give support to the younger Jarret Stidham and Bryan Hoyer.

Newton already won the Most Valuable Player award in the 2015-2016 season, the same season in which he reached Super Bowl 50 losing to Carolina against the Denver Broncos, so we are not talking about an upstart.

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The main qualities of this quarterback point to good mobility and offensive versatility, which gives flexibility to the team that has him, especially for the running game. In an NFL that has little evolved in mobile QBs, the 'Pats' already have one that gives them strengths in that section.

Another aspect is that there will be less pressure for Stidham, although at one point it sounded like the option to be the starting quarterback, but now he will have a smoother process. If for Newton it can be difficult to supplant Brady, much more so for a 23-year-old quarterback who was chosen at the 133rd pick of the 2019 draft. It will be a more favorable transition for this young man.

Opportunity to be reborn

But beware that, if Cam Newton has an opportunity to fight again for Vince Lombardi for New England, for the player it is also a personal challenge since he seeks to vindicate himself taking into account his career after that Super Bowl in 2016.

Since then, Newton's numbers have declined. He went from ratings of 99.4, plus 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns, to lower numbers of 75.8, 80.7, 94.2 and 71.0. Moreover, after that he did not exceed 25 annotations per pass. To make matters worse, last year he fractured and was only able to play two games.

The reason why he was only able to play a couple of matches last season was a problem with the bones of his left foot. This situation cost him his departure from the Carolina team with the risk of not receiving a new opportunity. In 2019 he registered 50 completions for 572 yards and not a single touchdown.

The truth is that for Cam, all that must be left behind and he must now now focus on his new team, the most winning team in the NFL along with the Pittsburgh Steelers with 6 Super Bowl titles each.