2. Newton’s arrival means the Jarrett Stidham era is on hold
When a player of Newton’s caliber joins a team, he’s going to be the starter. Maybe Newton’s injuries led him to look like a mess in 2019. But we need only look back to 2018 to see he’s one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. He completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 3,395 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while adding 101 carries for 488 yards and four touchdowns over 14 games. If he can get back to that standard of play, then the Patriots will have a really solid starter. And that means Stidham won’t be the starter in 2020.