The New England Patriots lost their fourth consecutive game on Sunday afternoon after Cam Newton fumbled late in the fourth quarter.
The 2020 season certainly hasn’t gone the way Bill Belichick had hoped. He brought in a former MVP to be Tom Brady‘s replacement and some people believed they would win the AFC East. However, Newton has resembled a player closer to the one we saw in his last year in Carolina rather than his MVP year in 2015.
Newton signed a one-year deal to prove he could be the quarterback he once was. There was talk before the season started that perhaps Newton would sign an extension or come back to play in New England when he hit free agency. That reality has gone out the window, as fans have seen enough. While he may ultimately come back, at this point Belichick and company would probably want to see a rookie quarterback come through the doors since they’re trending in the direction of earning a top-10 pick in next year’s draft.
Trevor Lawrence is going to be the #1 pick assuming he enters the draft and Ohio State’s Justin Fields shouldn’t be too far behind him. BYU’s quarterback Zach Wilson could be a logical choice for New England.
Belichick may be reluctant to have backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham become the starter despite it looking fairly unlikely that this season results in playoff appearance. Fans have to wonder what level of confidence the Patriots have in Stidham being their starter next year.
“Cam’s our quarterback. Been that way all year,” Belichick said after their 24-21 loss at Buffalo.
Cam clearly isn’t the quarterback of the future and, as the losses pile up, it becomes less and less clear what the Patriots plans are at the position beyond 2020.
(Photo courtesy of Charles Krupa/AP Photo)
