Category: Auburn in NFL

Former teammate reveals why Patriots signing Newton is ‘the all-time greatest deal’

A former teammate of Newton’s thinks the Patriots got a major steal in signing the quarterback.

Cam Newton’s former teammate Greg Olsen gave the quarterback very high praise during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take.

Olsen played with Newton for the Panthers from 2011-2020 before departing for the Seahawks this February. In 2016, Olsen became the first tight end to record three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. He leaves Carolina with an impressive 718 career receptions for 8,444 total yards.

Nearly a month after Olsen’s contract with the Seahawks was finalized, the Panthers announced their decision to release Newton. The timing for the veteran quarterback could not have been worse. As a free agent, Newton was unable to perform physical evaluations for prospective NFL teams due to the pandemic. In early May, Olsen was outspoken against the circumstances surrounding Newton’s ability to get signed:

“I think the timing of everything going on in the world and specifically as it pertains to our country and the NFL, with him coming off the injuries, was just really not an ideal situation. If he would have been released a little earlier, kind of like me, I was able to get out in front, come visit Seattle. Maybe Seattle doesn’t sign me if I don’t have a chance to go out there and meet them and them see me and do my physical.”

On June 28, Newton’s luck finally turned around when he was signed by the New England Patriots. The Patriots landed Newton on a one-year deal in which he’s only guaranteed $550,000. Olsen reveals why he believes Newton is a steal for the Patriots.

“My head popped off when I saw how much he signed for. It’s the all-time greatest deal. I am the biggest Cam Newton advocate out there. He’s been amazing for not only my career, but so many other guys that had the opportunity to play with him the last eight, nine years in Carolina. … He is not a different person than he was in that MVP year. He’s had a couple injuries, he’s had a couple down seasons. I understand what that’s like, I’ve been there myself.”

What about the contrasting personalities that separate Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Newton? Will the conservative stoicism of Belichick clash with the charismatic flamboyance of Newton? What will New England think of Newton’s hats!?

Newton’s former right-hand man doesn’t address the hats, but brings up a valid point regarding Belichick.

“I think from talking to guys that have played in New England, I think the public persona of Bill is one thing – And I’m sure there’s truth to some of that – but I think behind closed doors, he understands what each of his players individually need. The support they need, the space they might need at times to bring out their best. If you look across Belichick’s coaching career, he’s coached a lot of different style of players. And the one thing he’s gonna learn about Cam is no one wants to win more than him, nobody’s going to come every day and practice harder and train harder and prepare better.”

Olsen goes on to say,

“I couldn’t be happier for him. New England’s gonna find out pretty quick just what a special competitor he is, and he’s gonna be just fine.”

Will we see Cam Newton start for the Patriots on September 13 against the Dolphins? NFL training camp starts back July 28, time will soon tell.

NFL analyst believes Patriots will fit offensive scheme to Cam Newton’s strengths

One NFL analyst believes that the Patriots will adjust their offense to fit Cam Newton’s strengths.

Cam Newton and Tom Brady could hardly be any different at playing the quarterback position. Brady, the most prolific quarterback in the game, is a pure drop-back passer while Newton can use his scrambling abilities and legs to be a dual-threat.

NFL analyst Marcus Spears believes that Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will adjust to having Newton under center.

“I believe every offensive coordinator that is worth any grain of salt adjusts to the players on his roster and tries to put him in a position to be successful,” Spears said. “If Josh McDaniels thought that they were going to sign Cam Newton and he was going to continue to run the same offense and that Cam Newton fit into that, Josh McDaniels is out of his mind. I believe that when you get to practice, when they start training camp, Cam Newton will have a package and eventually be the packaged starter.”

The former Auburn star is set to battle for the starting position with another former Tiger in Jarrett Stidham who was expected to be the man that replaced Brady before the Newton signing.

“Listen, Jarrett Stidham has been in this system,” Spears said. “He understands what the system has been. He kind of fits into that mold with Tom Brady and obviously pushing that forward as far as what New England is. I refuse to believe that the New England Patriots signed Cam Newton to come and ‘fit in’ to the New England Patriots offense without creating something for him to have success.”

LOOK: Cam Newton arrives to Boston airport in surreal scene

Logan Airport was basically empty when the new New England Patriots quarterback arrived.

Usually when the biggest free agent signing of the offseason arrives at the airport closest to the team’s headquarters, the media and fans would be surrounding that player and getting luggage would take quite a bit of time.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the light number of travelers, that wasn’t the case for Cam Newton as he arrived in Boston

That is quite a bizarre scene as Newton wheels his luggage through the airport almost alone. The Auburn legend who led the Tigers to 2010 national title signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this summer and is expected to be the person who takes over for Tom Brady.

NFL Hall of Fame coach thinks Cam Newton will be ‘very exciting’

Most people agree that the signing of Cam Newton made the New England Patriots considerably better.he two were tabbed as potential matches early in the offseason as the Patriots only had quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer on their roster after moving on from Tom Brady.

Most people agree that the signing of Cam Newton made the New England Patriots considerably better since Tom Brady is no longer there.

The two were tabbed as potential matches early in the offseason as the Patriots only had quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer on their roster after moving on from Tom Brady. Newton, on the other hand, is coming off of injuries and being released by the Carolina Panthers.

Lengendary coach and current NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson recently joined “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” to talk about the pairing of Newton and New England.

“I think it’s going to work as long as Cam stays healthy,” Johnson said. “I think he’s going to be very exciting. Josh McDaniels is going to work with Cam and have him do all kinds of things. Of course Josh had Tim Tebow in Denver so he can do some running style type things. Cam right now looks to be healthy. I know Josh had conversations with Norv and Bill (Belichick) has had conversations with Norv Turner who worked with Cam. So I think everyones on the same page. They’re going to throw him out there and see if he can make some plays and I think he’ll make plenty of plays.”

Newton and Brady have very different skill sets and the transition should allow the Patriots to call plays they were unable to use with Brady.

Newton himself echoed these thoughts in a recent roundtable discussion with Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz and Todd Gurley.

“Coach McDaniels, you’re able to call some stuff that you ain’t ever been able to call now,” Newton said. “You’re getting a dog. You’re getting one of these ticked off dogs, too. And I’m looking at the schedule and I’m like ‘Who are we playing? That team passed on me! OK, that team passed on me. They could’ve came and got me.’”

Former Auburn DT Derrick Brown proposes to longtime girlfriend Tayla Main

The two are expecting their second child in October.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Derrick Brown!

The former Auburn defensive tackle proposed to his longtime girlfriend Tayla Main on Saturday afternoon. Brown and Main have been dating since 2014 and welcomed their son Kai in December 2018.

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It’s been an exciting year for the couple.

In March, the couple revealed they’re expecting a baby girl this October. Nearly one month later, Brown was drafted seventh overall to the Carolina Panthers. The couple have successfully moved to Charlotte ahead of the NFL’s anticipated training camp start date which is expected to begin July 28th.

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“The beginning of forever” Main posted to her Instagram.

“Mi familia” Brown added to his own Instagram post.

Congratulations Derrick and Tayla!

Darius Slayton ready for outbreak year with the Giants

The former Auburn star had a big rookie season for the New York Giants.

After a stellar rookie season many are wondering: is Darius Slayton ready to take the next step to greatness?

I certainly think so.

The Giants didn’t really know what they were getting in Slayton when they drafted him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. You can blame that on Auburn’s lack of a passing game, but once Slayton made it to New York coaches liked what they saw.

After sitting out the first half of the season due to a hamstring injury, Slayton had a breakout game in week 10 against the Jets, catching 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. By the end of the season, he’d become QB Daniel Jones’ favorite target and led the Giants in receiving yards (740), yards per catch (15.4) and touchdowns (8).

Does he have what it takes to be the Giants’ number 1 wide receiver?

MORE: What Auburn’s SEC only 2020 football schedule could look like

The Giants didn’t add to their wide receiver corps this offseason and, if Slayton can remain healthy, he’ll be the Giants best option at WR1.

Former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson is here to let everyone know, Slayton is the real deal:

“He’s a beast, man,” Burleson said. “I wanna see him develop even more and see just how well they can use him. Can you move him around? Can you put him in motion? Can you run him around multiple routes? I know he can go over the top of guys. Now let’s test how good of a wide receiver he is. He’s one of my favorite young wideouts …

“He can be a top-flight receiver in this league.”

Big Blue Review’s Ed Valentine with the full analysis of Darius Slayton here.

Darius Slayton has the best opportunity to capitalize on his rookie success this season, all eyes are on him.

Details of Cam Newton’s contract incenetives revealed

Cam Newton signing with the New England Patriots was an obvious pairing but one that took nearly the whole summer to happen. One of the reported reasons was that Newton’s asking price fell to something the Patriots could match and we now know more of the details. 

Cam Newton signing with the New England Patriots was an obvious pairing but one that took nearly the whole summer to happen. One of the reported reasons was that Newton’s asking price fell to something the Patriots could match and we now know more of the details.

The deal, which reportedley has a base value of $1.05 million can end up paying Newton $7.5 million if he meets every incentive included in the contract. ESPN’s Field Yates reported the full list of these incentives Thursday morning on Twitter.

The biggest amount of his incentives are based on his playing time, if he plays 13% he will earn an additional $250,000 bonus and if he is on the field for 90% of their snaps and they make the playoffs he will earn a $3.75 million bonus.

He will also receive $700,000 if he’s on the active roster for all 16 games and $500,00 for making the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro teams, respectively.

This contract is clearly team-friendly but if Newton is healthy and becomes the teams top quarterback then he will have a chance to earn a nice check while rebeuilding his value for next season.

WATCH: Patriots release hype video for Cam Newton

The Auburn legend and 2015 NFL MVP will be the quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2020.

After it was officially official that Cam Newton would be a New England Patriot in 2020, the AFC East team decided to release a hype video for their new quarterback.

Enjoy!

LOOK: New England Patriots officially welcome Cam Newton to team

Cam Newton is officially a New England Patriot.

It is officially official now: Cam Newton is the member of the New England Patriots.

On Wednesday, after we are just guessing the Auburn legend passed his psychical, the team’s official Twitter account welcome him.

This is going to be an interesting season in Foxborough!

Paul Finebaum believes Carolina Panthers handled Cam ‘poorly’

The SEC Network host believes that Cam Newton was treated unfairly by the Carolina Panthers.

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When Paul Finebaum has an opinion, he’s going to let it be known whether people agree or disagree.

When discussing Cam Newton and his exit from the Carolina Panthers following nine seasons in which he led the NFC South team to a Super Bowl and broke many of the organization’s records, Finebaum said on air that the Panthers handled the entire situation badly.

“I thought they handled it poorly. I watch enough pro football to know that things usually end badly,” Finebaum said in a Q&A with the Charlotte Observer. “I’ve been critical of Cam. Like many. Like you. But why be so unceremonious about it? I mean, just, let’s be graceful. He’s one of the greatest players in the franchise’s history. Why treat him like an outcast? Which I think they did.

“…I thought they did the same thing with (Panthers tight end) Greg Olsen. I got to know (Olsen) fairly well over the years. …What’s the point? Why be crass about things like that when you can show a modicum of class?”

Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, was a success from the first day he stepped on the playing field for the Panthers, putting past rookie records far down the dusty trail as he became a phenomenon, winning the 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

After struggling through injuries last season, the Panthers, and new coach Matt Rhule, decided to go in a different direction with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback.

Newton went unsigned for almost 100 days before being signed to a one-year contract by the New England Patriots, where he is set to battle with fellow Auburn former star Jarrett Stidham for the starting quarterback job.

“I think his health is the key,” Finebaum said. “I kind of wondered last year what he has left. I think the most amazing thing about Cam is that someone who virtually nobody in the NFL wanted has become the most talked-about athlete in the world for an entire week. …I think it shows that celebrity matters. And Cam is, in some ways, a bigger celebrity than he is a talent.”