Patriots Don’t Have Immediate Interest In Cam Newton

According to Jeff Howe, the Patriots don’t have any immediate interest in Panthers QB Cam Newton. 

Newton just passed a physical and, if healthy, the former MVP would be a massive upgrade at quarterback for New England once Carolina releases him. 

However, early indications are the Patriots plan to have veteran QB Brian Hoyer compete with 2019 fourth-round QB Jarrett Stidham for the starting position. 

The Patriots are short on cap space and it’s unclear what Newton’s salary would be. New England would also likely prefer their own doctors to evaluate Newton, which isn’t possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Howe previously reported the Patriots didn’t have any immediate interest in QB Andy Dalton, who’s in a similar position with the Bengals. 

Newton, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2011. He is entering the fifth year of his six-year, $118.47 million contract that includes $60 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $16.2 million and $18.6 million over the final two years of the agreement.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Newton frees up $19.1 of available cap space while creating $2 million in dead money. 

In 2019, Newton appeared in two games for the Panthers, completing 50 out of 89 passes for 572 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed five times for -2 yards.

We have Newton listed in our Top-100 2020 Free Agents list.