The news of Cam Newton’s signing with the New England Patriots has, in the eyes of many fans, tilted the balance in the AFC East back into the favor of the New England Patriots this season. But, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, at least one AFC East coach seems to think that the Newton signing is less of a shift in the Patriots’ approach and more so a complimentary move.
Russini reported yesterday that she held a text exchange with one of the AFC East’s head coaches and that the coach seemed to suggest that despite Newton’s signing with New England, a starting role may not be guaranteed in his future.
I spoke over text w/ an AFC East Head Coach on Cam Newton and the Patriots. “I think they are going to keep 3 QBs. Use Cam Newton perhaps as the wild card. I actually don't see him starting Week 1 in the offense…I know one thing for a fact: the #Patriots love Jarrett Stidham"
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) July 1, 2020
Are we sure this isn’t just Bill Belichick pranking us all or pulling our leg? The whispers out of New England certainly seem to confirm that the team sees redeemable qualities in young quarterback Jarrett Stidham. But enough to start him over Cam Newton and defer Newton into a “wild card” role? That’s a hard sell, even coming from one of the AFC East’s head coaches. Russini’s wording leaves us with an oddly specific pool of candidates for who may have offered this perspective, although it is unlikely that Belichick would have offered any commentary on his own team — especially with the quote reading the way that it does.
Which means there is a 33% chance that Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was the one who offered this insight into how Newton fits the Patriots’ puzzle. Of the head coaches in the AFC East, Flores is the one with the most connections to Foxborough, given that he’s a disciple off of the Belichick coaching tree. Could this have been his point of view?
Regardless of who it is, it would be a shock to see it come into reality; at least for the time being. Newton has indeed struggled with durability issues over the past few seasons, but until he proves he’s physically unable to replicate his play of the past, we’d be wise to not dismiss him as a “wild card” for the Patriots’ offense and instead brace for him being the catalyst of everything they do. Even if one of the AFC East head coaches disagrees.