FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton acknowledged he didn’t have the 2020 season he’d been hoping for, but stopped saying he would accept a backup role as he’s considering this off-season as a free agent.
“Frankly, it’s too soon to tell. That’s as fair as I can be,” Newton said Monday in his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI in Boston. “Do I think I have starting talent? Absolutely. Do I think a lot of things I’ve done have been devalued? Not the team perspective, probably the media perspective – absolutely.”
Newton, 31, added that he understands that quarterbacks are under scrutiny and that it is not a job for the “weak,” before saying, “I just really need some time to myself to rethink this whole situation. to evaluate.”
Newton saved one of his best performances for the Patriots’ final game of the 7-9 season. In Sunday’s 28-14 win over the New York Jets, he was 21 of 30 for 242 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed to 79 yards on 11 carries – including a 49-yard quarterback franchise record – and added a 19-yard touchdown catch.
“I know about the 32 guys, I’m not the 32nd position. So you also have to understand that I’m a competitor first. I know what my skills are, I know what my talent is. I understand that when I get the chance , there is no one better than I. That’s how I always feel. I also have to be realistic about the opportunity that is presented, “Newton said in the radio interview.
If you ask me: Do I want to be a backup? Hell no! When I watch other teams, and I watch other players playing, there are guys who have been getting away with murder for years due to insufficient play. right to say that with the year I had this year? No. But I’ll be honest and say it because that’s what I do. “
Newton finished the year 242-of-368 passing (65.8%) for 2,657 yards, with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 592 rush yards on 137 carries (4.3 average), with 12 touchdowns.
As for his possible return to New England in 2021, Newton said he shouldn’t talk to coach Bill Belichick just yet, though he sounded resigned at his video conference last week that he would move on, citing plans to keep in touch with teammates in the future. He said Monday morning it would be “remarkable” if Belichick decided he wanted him to return.
Newton previously said one of his biggest regrets was joining the Patriots after the last off season, which he will think about as he nears free choice.
“That is definitely going to be taken into consideration,” he said on WEEI. “I’m not going to wait until the last part of another season when I get a chance to do something or sign with someone. I think I’m hurting myself. [with] Which. You just live and learn. “
Newton said one of his main goals was to get through the season healthy, which he achieved.
“Through it all, my shoulder up, my foot up, held up mentally,” he said. “I had cuts and bruises, but who doesn’t have wounds and bruises in the NFL? Nothing remains enough to hold me back. I’m going to take that as a blessing and do it off-season.”
Newton added that this is the first low season in five or six years that he’s been healthy.
“I clearly have to work on my mechanics. I clearly have to throw the football earlier than last year,” he said. “I will focus on those things as we prepare for the off season.”