Robert Kraft seemed to recognize the New England Patriots didn’t do enough on offense in 2020. And he was even willing to admit that the quarterback position remains unsettled, now a full year removed from Tom Brady defecting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the Patriots owner didn’t despair about the team’s No. 1 quarterback, Cam Newton.
Kraft stuck up for Newton during a meeting with the media on Wednesday.
“I think in fairness to Cam, I’m not sure he had the proper weapons around him last year, and then he got COVID,” Kraft said. “There were a lot of things that happened.”
He later added: “Last year was very disappointing, and I really do believe that Cam getting COVID and what it did to the team, it changed a lot when we were in a good place.”
When Newton missed a game with COVID-19, he and the Patriots were fresh off a narrow defeat to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. In that game, he had completed 68% of his passes for 397 yards, one touchdown and one interception with 11 carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns. It seemed like the offense was just hitting its stride. But when Newton contracted the novel coronavirus, New England’s season went off the rails, with four consecutive losses. Newton missed a game, and played poorly upon his return. Of course, Newton wasn’t brilliant in Week 4 against the Raiders, his final performance before getting COVID-19. Clearly, it wasn’t just the virus. But perhaps that played a role in the team’s decline.
Newton will have the full offseason to work with the Patriots coaches and his teammates, both new (free agent signings Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne) and old (Julian Edelman, Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry).
“He’s more familiar with what goes on here,” Kraft said. “Just like the younger players from last year, we will see what happens this year.”
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