It’s believed that former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wanted out of New England due in part to the failure of coach Bill Belichick to sufficiently praise the quarterback for his efforts.
If that was the case with Brady, Belichick is definitely taking a different approach with Brady’s successor.
“He’s come in and do everything we’ve asked him to do,” Belichick told reporters on Monday regarding Cam Newton. “He works had. He’s obviously a very talented player and looking forward to continue to work with him. We’ll just take it day-by-day, but he’s given us everything he’s had and we’ve tried to put the team in the best position we can competitively. We’ll see how that all comes out. I’m sure a lot of things will change as the season goes along. We are where we are for right now and just keep trying to get better every day.”
One thing that could change is that Cam could get injured. A foot injury ended his 2019 season after two games, and a shoulder problem derailed a promising 2018, during which the Panthers had started 6-2.
Still, if Newton can stay healthy (and if the Patriots can keep him healthy), the Patriots could end up in much better shape than anyone would have imagined, with a quarterback who ended up still being available in late June.