FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton admitted he didn’t play as well as he had hoped for 2020 but said on Monday that he had “a lot of football left” with coach Bill Belichick Option left open Enter Jarrett Stidham playing time with the team from playoff competition.
“I’ll leave it to the people I’ve left it to since day one. I won’t go into that,” Newton said in his weekly interview on WEEI sports radio when asked if he still expects to be the starter . “I’m still in an interview to be honest.”
Newton, 31, revealed how much he enjoyed playing for the Patriots (6-8) as experience has shown him how much better he can be as a player.
Newton was selected to replace Tom Brady after signing a one-year contract on July 8, and is a post-season free agent. He plans to continue playing in 2021. He stated that one of his goals for 2020 would be to get through the season healthy after previously sidelining with shoulder and foot injuries.
“I still have a lot of football left. I still want to play football. I feel the need to get better,” Newton said when asked if he would be retiring. “After I released this movie? Hey, come on. I can’t go out like this. I definitely can’t go out like this.”
In 13 games, Newton is 216-for-328 for 2,381 yards, with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has added 489 rushing yards on 122 carry and 11 touchdowns.
To do Newton justice, the patriots did not surround him with a multitude of high-ranking recipients and narrow ends. No team has had such limited pass-catch production from tight ends in the entire NFL.
Even so, Newton was a sharp self-critic.
“You have to be your best self when your best self is needed. That is a famous quote from John Wooden [quarterbacks] Trainer Jedd [Fisch] somehow implemented it to remind us. That’s the thing I haven’t done enough this year, “Newton said.
Whether Newton will have a chance in the last two games of the season – on Monday evening on December 28 at home against AFC East champions Buffalo Bills (ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET) and then in the final against the visiting New York Jets – remains to be seen after the Patriots officially eliminated from the postseason game on Sunday.
After Belichick declared “Cam’s our quarterback” after losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14, he appeared to be slacking off on Monday morning.
When asked if he could use the last two games to give some players a longer look into the future, Belichick said, “We can evaluate the odds. We will continue to prepare and try to play as well as we can . ” Monday evening. But we’ll see how it all slips off. In certain situations it could be a possibility. “
Asked specifically if quarterback could be one of those situations by giving Stidham an expanded look. Belichick said, “We shall see.”
When asked what he saw of Newton to justify the possibility of staying with him, Belichick declined.
“Really, we have a lot of team questions to answer. I think that will be the most important thing. We will talk about it today, tomorrow – we have an extra day this week – and see how things start from a bigger point of view off, “he said.
“Obviously [we] I haven’t played the run well in the past two weeks and haven’t scored a touchdown in the past two weeks. I don’t think it’s a person. “
