What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Cam Newton to Pats (1 Viewer)

Watching Belichik adjust from Brady to Cam on the fly would be fascinating to watch.  Could they possibly be any different?  Please let us have a season I want to see this so bad and I'm not remotely a Patriots fan.

 
Wow, big move...very glad the Pats added legit competition to Stidham but surprised it eventually ended up being Newton...will be fascinating to watch the training camp battle...regardless of who it is gotta believe the style of offense is going to change in a big way from the TB12 days...McDaniels tried to build around Tebow in Denver and it looks like QB mobility is gonna be a much bigger part of the Pats gameplan this year...especially if Cam can prove he hasn't lost it.

 
Since Cam didn’t meet any of the incentives last year for his contract this year, they likely are going to be considered not likely to be earned. Meaning they wouldn’t be applied to this year’s salary cap. He would be replacing a player slotted at $750K (the #51 ranked player counting against the salary cap). The league minimum for a 9 year veteran is $1.05 million. So in theory, NE would only need $300K in salary cap space to be able to sign Newton.

 
Wow, big move...very glad the Pats added legit competition to Stidham but surprised it eventually ended up being Newton...will be fascinating to watch the training camp battle...regardless of who it is gotta believe the style of offense is going to change in a big way from the TB12 days...McDaniels tried to build around Tebow in Denver and it looks like QB mobility is gonna be a much bigger part of the Pats gameplan this year...especially if Cam can prove he hasn't lost it.
Competition?  You don't sign Cam Newton to backup a guy who has thrown 4 career passes.  Its Cam's job obviously.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Competition?  You don't sign Cam Newton to backup a guy whose thrown 4 career passes.  Its Cam's job obviously.
No it is not...he will have to earn it...he just signed a low money, 1 year deal at the end of June...that is not an indication they are building around him...long-term it would be far better for the franchise for Sitdham to win this job...it is a camp competition that gives them some long term hope with some short term insurance.

 
No it is not...he will have to earn it...he just signed a low money, 1 year deal at the end of June...that is not an indication they are building around him...long-term it would be far better for the franchise for Sitdham to win this job...it is a camp competition that gives them some long term hope with some short term insurance.
Lol...no.  Just no.

 
I think Belichick would be happy to see Stidham win the job, but Newton was a great fallback option sitting out there. I think it will be an open competition.
Yup...it never made sense just handing the job to Stidham...he needs to earn it and he is far from a can't miss project...with their cap situation they did not have many options and fortunately for them Newton happened to be available this late in the off-season...got a real break with that one.

 
Yup...it never made sense just handing the job to Stidham...he needs to earn it and he is far from a can't miss project...with their cap situation they did not have many options and fortunately for them Newton happened to be available this late in the off-season...got a real break with that one.
I'm sure this wasn't their first dance at signing.  Pats got lucky no one else wanted to give him a real deal.  Boom, starting QB.

 
Yup...it never made sense just handing the job to Stidham...he needs to earn it and he is far from a can't miss project...with their cap situation they did not have many options and fortunately for them Newton happened to be available this late in the off-season...got a real break with that one.
and they'll have plenty of cap space in 2021 to sign him if it really clicks between Cam, the coaches, and hopefully the weapons they have

 
and they'll have plenty of cap space in 2021 to sign him if it really clicks between Cam, the coaches, and hopefully the weapons they have
Yup...this gives them options...Cam regaining his form and being the starter for the next 4 years or so is one of them...as is Stidham beating him out either in camp or during the season or thinking Stidham needs one more year of development before getting the keys...if they can figure out their QB situation this season they can turn things around pretty quickly as they are in great shape with the cap next offseason.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Assuming he is healthy, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess former MVP QB is better than Jarrett Stidham. 
Perhaps.  Probably, I guess.

But, I think bringing up his MVP has little relevance to projecting a particular WR output.  Cam never won because of his prolific passing.  He’s a subpar passer when it comes to accuracy, and there never was any volume in CAR to warrant much excitement for his pass catchers. I almost think it’s just as well for Harry’s sake that Stidham gets the job based on the unknown possibilities.  We know what we get at best with Cam, and I don’t think that’s any cause for excitement from Harry stock holders.

 
Agreed. People think Cam is a sore sport/poor sport and maybe he is, but it's because he just wants to win above all else. Belichick can appreciate that, I think they're a good fit and expect the offense will look very different.
The two are not mutually exclusive.  I have not seen evidence that suggests Cam wants to win any more than, say, the average starting QB.  Some evidence against it, in fact.  And plenty of evidence he’s a sore/poor sport.

 
95% Newton starts week 1. 

The only way he doesn't is if he isn't healthy, in which case, I'd assume he suffered a new injury, since they likely wouldn't have signed him if he was still injured. Only the Jets do that.

The theorist in me, says this deal was worked out months ago, it was just a matter of Cam needing to pass a physical, and the Pats working out the cap stuff. 

 
Perhaps.  Probably, I guess.

But, I think bringing up his MVP has little relevance to projecting a particular WR output.  Cam never won because of his prolific passing.  He’s a subpar passer when it comes to accuracy, and there never was any volume in CAR to warrant much excitement for his pass catchers. I almost think it’s just as well for Harry’s sake that Stidham gets the job based on the unknown possibilities.  We know what we get at best with Cam, and I don’t think that’s any cause for excitement from Harry stock holders.
Sorry if this seems disjointed, it's a copy and paste of 2 different posts I made last year. 

Steve Smith had 2 of his better seasons with Cam. Kelvin Benjamin is trash and Newton made him a fantasy WR2. Funchess isn’t much better and Cam also got a WR2 season from him. Ginn had been a bust most of his career but Cam got WR2 numbers- similar to what Brees got out of him. Olsen was a disappointment in Chicago and Cam turned turned him into a regular pro bowler. Everyone said CMc was a bad fit with Cam but Cam fed CMc to make him one of the most prolific pass catching backs ever. What about college RB Curtis Samuel? Even he had some success with Cam in 2018.

Newton has flaws but I don't see where his flaws have ever limited his receiving options from reaching their fantasy potential. Cam is 12th in active yards per attempt and 2nd in yards per completion. 

If we look at the WRs Cam has played with, they almost universally had their best seasons with Cam. I don't see anyone who didn't hit their fantasy ceiling with Cam. 

- Lafell: With Cam he had a 16 game average of 667/4, with Brady/Dalton it was 780/4.  Not a huge difference- especially if we consider Cam was a rookie and Lafell was a 2nd year player for one of the 3 Carolina years. Lafell had a whole season with Brady where he didn't score a single TD. 

-Louis Murphy: He spent 1 year in Carolina where he started 5 games and had 336/1. After that he averaged 310/2 over the rest of his career. I don't think Murphy was very good.

- Cotchery: Spent the final 2 seasons of his career in Carolina and at ages 32-33. He averaged 588/2 which was right in line with his previous 4 years in Pittsburgh/NY where he averaged 415/4. 

- Ed Dickson: In Baltimore he was averaging 314/2 and on Carolina opposite a Pro Bowl TE he averaged 202/1. 

- Russell Shepard: We will ignore the first 3 years of his career in Tampa when he never played. His last 2 years in Tampa he averaged 219/2. His 1 year with Cam was 202/1.

-Torrey Smith: only started 6 games with Cam at the end of his career, I don't think Smith had anything left and was clearly in a decline but his pace for the year with Cam was basically the same he had done the 2 previous seasons in Philly and SF. 

- Jarius Wright: 413/2 average in Minnesota. 447/1 in Carolina. 

When Cam has had weapons, those players hit their peak. Maybe we look back in 2 years and see Harry as being nothing more than another Branden Lafell, but I believe if Harry is as  good as his profile indicated and Cam is healthy, there is WR2 potential this year. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'll be surprised big time if Cam isn't the starter.  I think he'll have to earn it in the sense that--if Stidham is clealry better, why wouldn't they start him?  But I'll be very surprised if that's the case.

They waited until the price tag came down for Cam.  Cam is only 31.  He's not dead.  He's not lost his talent.  He's just been hurt.  He could always get re-injured.  But man I'm excited to see him with Harry. 

 
The two are not mutually exclusive.  I have not seen evidence that suggests Cam wants to win any more than, say, the average starting QB.  Some evidence against it, in fact.  And plenty of evidence he’s a sore/poor sport.
I had heard that narrative before but never paid close enough attention to him to have an opinion one way or the other. But then I watched the All or Nothing season with the Panthers and came away very impressed with him as a person and a leader. If he is healthy I'm buying. 

 
If Cam can prove he's finally healthy, he's just entering his prime as far as QBs go. I've always thought QBs primes were a few years later than other positions. It's more the mental stuff and repetition and learning playbooks that takes longer for the QBs.

 
If Cam can prove he's finally healthy, he's just entering his prime as far as QBs go. I've always thought QBs primes were a few years later than other positions. It's more the mental stuff and repetition and learning playbooks that takes longer for the QBs.
That's true of QB passing but not QB running.

Of the top 50 QB seasons in rushing yards per game (since 1970), 4 were by QBs age 30+. Vick at #6 (age 30), Vick at #18 (age 31), Vick at #20 (age 33), and Steve Young at #41 (age 30). That's it.

Of the top 50 QB seasons in passing yards per game (since 1970), 32 were by QBs age 30+. Including all of the top 10.

 
I'll be surprised big time if Cam isn't the starter.  I think he'll have to earn it in the sense that--if Stidham is clealry better, why wouldn't they start him?  But I'll be very surprised if that's the case.

They waited until the price tag came down for Cam.  Cam is only 31.  He's not dead.  He's not lost his talent.  He's just been hurt.  He could always get re-injured.  But man I'm excited to see him with Harry. 
This has been in the works since April according to Scott Barrett. This wasn’t about price tag, it was about passing a physical. Means they also purposely avoided using draft resources because of it. Cam will be the starter, he is not being brought in to back up a 4th rounder who had an erratic college career.

 
This is really an interesting signing. Shame they couldn't make it happen sooner. Cam will have a lot of playbook reading to do. But agree with others, if healthy, he is not being brought for "competition", he's brought in to be the leader of the offense and Day 1 starter.

Also agree with other poster who said Cam could be much better for Harry than Brady was. Cam seems like much more of an "Ok, my big guy looks kind of open I'll throw it" vs. Brady who wants routes run to the millimeter before he looks for you. 

Overall a huge boost for the entire offense other than Michel who will be down 3-4 TDs at least.

And can I be the only one surprised to see Cam is only 31? Again to echo other posters, that is prime age for QBs. Obviously he won't be able to be as effective of a runner at this point in his career, but he just needs the threat of his legs vs. designed run plays. If he is healthy this could be a nice 3-5 year marriage for BB to close out his career with. I'm sure that is what he's thinking.

Cam vs Gronk for Comeback Player of the Year will be a heated battle. :D  

 
Saw some local discussion on the move, and there was some debate that if they wanted Cam to start they would have signed him in March or April and not waste 3 months when he could have been learning the system. So the thought process was that Cam will slot in as the backup and will have to beat out Stidham. Clearly anything could happen, but some folks still think the plan for now is still Stidham. 

 
I also think it's a competition. Dude is on a one year deal and doesn't know the offense. No idea of chemistry with Edelman which will be important.

Feels like when Kurt Warner went to the Giants / Cardinals. If Belichek can mold Cam, Patriots can be deadly. I can also see this going in a complete opposite disastrous direction.

Clearly a ploy to motivat Tatum Bell.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Saw some local discussion on the move, and there was some debate that if they wanted Cam to start they would have signed him in March or April and not waste 3 months when he could have been learning the system. So the thought process was that Cam will slot in as the backup and will have to beat out Stidham. Clearly anything could happen, but some folks still think the plan for now is still Stidham. 
I’ve posted it here and in the Stidham thread this was a done deal in April. This was about passing a physical per Scott Barrett on twitter. It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Stidham outright cut in favor of Hoyer. Pats have gone out of there way to only carry two QB’s on the roster for years now.

 
I’ve posted it here and in the Stidham thread this was a done deal in April. This was about passing a physical per Scott Barrett on twitter. It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Stidham outright cut in favor of Hoyer. Pats have gone out of there way to only carry two QB’s on the roster for years now.
Cutting Stidham seems highly improbable. They kept 2 Qb's b/c they had Brady who never (except for the 1 year) got hurt. Now they have Newton who has tons of health questions which almost forces you to keep 3 Qbs even if they thought Stidham sucks which I don't think they do.

 
I’ve posted it here and in the Stidham thread this was a done deal in April. This was about passing a physical per Scott Barrett on twitter. It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Stidham outright cut in favor of Hoyer. Pats have gone out of there way to only carry two QB’s on the roster for years now.
Did't they cut Hoyer to keep Stidham last offseason? Why would they keep Hoyer over Stidham - seems like a bad move for roster building.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top