Former MVP QB Cam Newton Agrees To One year Deal with Patriots

Who’s Cam Newton?

Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots. After starting his college football career as a backup to Tim Tebow at Florida, Newton transferred to Blinn College. He then joined Auburn, where he won the BCS National Championship and Heisman Trophy in 2010.

He was facing many of his injuries while he was with the Panthers from 2015,  Over the next several seasons, Newton dealt with numerous injuries, and following the 2019 season, he was released by the Panthers.

Carolina Panthers’ QB

On July 29, 2011, Newton signed a four-year contract, worth over $22 million, with the Carolina Panthers that was fully guaranteed. After unsuccessfully negotiating with quarterback Jimmy Clausen for the No. 2 jersey Newton wore at Auburn, he decided to keep the No. 1 jersey that the Panthers had assigned him after the draft. His quarterbacks coach was Mike Shula, former head football coach of his college rival Alabama. A month later on September 1, 2011, he was named the Panthers’ starting quarterback, ahead of Derek Anderson and Clausen.

2014 season: injury-plagued season

 2014, Newton underwent surgery to “strengthen” up his ankle ligaments, which Newton admitted he had dealt with since his college days at Auburn University. The estimated recovery time was four months, which caused him to miss training camp and the first preseason game. During the third preseason game against the New England Patriots, Newton suffered a hairline fracture on his ribs after a hit from Jamie Collins. Newton’s streak of starting 48 consecutive games was snapped during the Panthers opening game 20–14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Newton made his debut during Carolina Panthers home opener against the Detroit Lions in Week 2. He recorded 300 yards of offense with a touchdown, no turnovers, and a 100.2 quarterback rating en route to a 24–7 victory. Injury messed his career that time in short.

MVP season and Super Bowl 50 appearance

the Panthers and Newton agreed to a five-year, $103.8 million contract extension. Through the 2015 preseason, Newton graded as PFF’s best quarterback. During the season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Newton finished with 175 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception, while rushing for 35 yards. This was the first NFL opening-day victory for Newton (the Panthers won their opener in 2014 with an injured Newton on the sidelines). During the Panthers’ Week 2 victory over the Houston Texans, Newton finished with 195 yards passing, two passing touchdowns, and one interception, while rushing for 76 yards and one touchdown. In week three against the New Orleans Saints, Newton passed for 315 yards and two passing touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown. It marked the 26th game in Newton’s career in which he had a passing and a rushing touchdown, ranking second all-time in NFL history behind only Steve Young. further, it marked the 14th time in his career where Newton notched two-plus touchdown passes and at least one rushing touchdown, third-most in the NFL since 1960, behind only Steve Young and Fran Tarkenton. Through the first three games of the season, Newton accounted for 76% of the total offensive yards and 88% of the total touchdowns the Panthers generated. Newton helped lead the Panthers to a 3–0 start, the first time they had done so since the 2003 NFL Season. Several experts noted Newton’s continued growth as a quarterback; Gil Brandt noted Newton’s improving internal clock in the pocket, citing his career-low sack percentage of 4.8% in the early season; senior NFL columnist for CBSSports.com, Pete Prisco, noting Cam’s improved pocket patience, mechanics, and ability to read defenses; Cian Fahey noted Newton’s development into a refined pocket passer with the athleticism to diversify any offense with a multidimensional run game. In the following week, during a 37–23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton went 11 of 22 passing for 124 yards and two touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 51 yards to give the Panthers a 4–0 record for the first time since 2003. As a rusher, through the first four weeks, Newton ranked 3rd in the NFL in rushes for first downs.

Newton’s return

Newton will now join a QB room that includes sophomore talent Jarrett Stidham and veteran Brian Hoyer, whom the team brought back for a third time earlier this offseason, and compete for the starting spot under center in New England for the 2020 season.

It has been a typhoon of a year for both Newton and his new team. After having his past two seasons ruined by injury, Newton was released on March 25 by the Panthers, the franchise he shined brightly for since being drafted first overall in 2011. On the 24th of June, the Patriots watched as future Hall of Famer Tom Brady signed a contract with Tampa Bay. This agreement couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for both parties and, should things go according to plan, it could lead to something special.

His resume more than speaks for itself, but here’s a quick reminder of what a healthy Newton brings to the table: three Pro Bowl nods, the 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and numerous Panthers and NFL records in his name, as well as career totals of 29,041 pass yards (182 TDs) and 4,806 rush yards (58 TDs — the most by any QB in NFL history). He also led Carolina to its second Super Bowl berth in 2015, a year that saw them finish 15-1 and him win an MVP while earning Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Pro honors. He boasts a career win-loss record of 68-55-1 and has won three of his seven postseason contests.

Good restart for a player trying to bounce back especially in a pandemic.