The New England Patriots contacted quarterback Cam Newton just moments after the Carolina Panthers released him, according to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi. The call came just a few days after quarterback Tom Brady elected to leave Bill Belichick and New England in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s clear there was a ton of interest between the Patriots and Cam Newton,” Giardi said on NFL Network. “The moment Newton was released, there was a phone call made immediately and then both sides did their due diligence. As you heard Belichick say, they felt comfortable enough to sort of create this union and obviously Cam felt the same.”
Belichick hinted at this during a press conference last week, though he didn’t reveal all the details of New England’s pursuit of Newton.
“Things worked out,” the Patriots coach said Friday. “We spent quite a bit of time with Cam, and he spent quite a bit of time with us. I think there was some mutual interest. We went and spent quite a bit of a number of different people and a number of different conversations, just trying to see how the fit would be and it was very positive on our end. I’m glad it worked out.”
Newton signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with New England on June 28. Surely, the Patriots are pleased to have him in the mix for an open quarterback competition between Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.
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