Cue the imperial death march.
The reported death of the Patriots Dynasty has been greatly exaggerated. This is a very savvy move by Bill Belichick. It’s the typical buy low sell high transaction that he has been known to make. From Randy Moss to Darrelle Revis and now Cam Newton, Belichick takes players and drags them off the scrap heap, and more often then not he finds a gem.
This is also a very low risk transaction for the Patriots. It’s a one year deal, and Newton is probably not the Quarterback of the future.
If this signing pans out, the Patriots are a legitimate contender in the AFC. With their stout defense, Sony Michel and James White in the backfield, and Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry (assuming he stays healthy) lining up on the outside, they should be able to at least win the AFC East. As long as Newton can play at a level that is anywhere close to his 2015 MVP season, the Patriots will be tough to beat (unfortunately).
We will be able to tell pretty early on whether this experiment will work out or not. If it doesn’t, it will be a shock to the system for Patriots fans… at least this year. Belichick will likely pull the parachute early and he’ll ride out the year with Jarrett Stidham. They’ll punt the season and try to tank. The Pats won’t be the worst team in the league even if they tank, and there will be some guys that get shipped out to accumulate draft picks (Edelman, McCourty twins, etc.). I think Belichick will be able to accumulate enough draft picks to reload the roster or have enough picks to trade up to get either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields.
As for Cam Newton, he needs to make this work. It’s probably his last chance. If he can’t figure it out in New England, he won’t be able to figure it out anywhere else. This is his Dwight Howard/Carmelo Anthony moment. They had to set aside their ego’s to make it work and so will Cam if he wants to stay in the league. This means no more “look at me” outfits, and no more Superman… at least while he’s in New England.
Hopefully it works out for him on the Patriots. He’s a character and he’s a good personality to have in the league. No matter what happens, Darth Belichick is going to have his hands full this year.