National Football League

New England Patriots run it back with Cam Newton, but are they done?

Updated Mar. 12, 2021 5:21 p.m. ET

After an uneven season impacted by COVID-19 and injuries, the New England Patriots and Cam Newton decided to give their partnership another chance.

The Patriots, who finished third in the AFC East at 7-9 in 2020, have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the veteran quarterback that will pay him "close to $14 million."

Newton is the latest quarterback to come off the board in recent weeks as teams attempt to shore up that position ahead of the NFL draft, which begins April 29.

We’ve seen Carson Wentz traded to Indianapolis and Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford swapped. We’ve seen Ben Roethlisberger take a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh. We’ve seen Dak Prescott sign a massive deal with the Cowboys.

Now Newton gets a substantial raise after playing for a little more than $1 million last season. That season, for the record, was pretty uneven.

Newton showed some flashes, including passing for 397 yards in a Week 2 loss at Seattle. Through his first three weeks, he completed 68% of his passes for 714 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding 149 yards on the ground.

Then things took a turn for the worse. Newton contracted COVID-19 and missed Week 4. When he came back, he couldn’t quite get in sync. He also had to deal with injuries to key teammates, including Julian Edelman and Rex Burkhead.

"I was one of the first football players to catch it, and I'm over here like, 'Man, how did I get it? Where did it come from?'" Newton said on Brandon Marshall’s "I Am Athlete" podcast. "It just happened so fast. When I came back, it was something that that's where the lack of an offseason, the lack of time really being invested in the system kind of showed itself."

In the final 12 games of the season, Newton passed for 1,943 yards. He threw six touchdown passes and eight interceptions, and he was sacked 26 times.

It seems that Bill Belichick and the Patriots understood all of this. They realized it was a difficult situation for Newton to deal with. Yet he worked hard, he didn’t complain, he was a good teammate, and those who were around him, including former quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, noticed.

"I think Cam earned this opportunity less with his play and more with his attitude, his intangibles," Nick Wright said on "First Things First." "The things, oddly enough, that Cam’s been criticized the most for throughout his career."

But it couldn’t have been just about attitude, as Shannon Sharpe pointed out on "Undisputed," saying that Belichick doesn’t hand out $14 million because a guy is nice to people.

"Coach Belichick saw enough good in Cam before he got COVID to say … ‘I want to see that again,’" Sharpe said. "Coach Belichick is not the sentimentality type of guy. Either you get the job done, or you don’t."

What does all of this mean moving forward? Are the Patriots set at quarterback, or do they have another move on the way? Do they look to add another veteran in free agency, or perhaps look at picking up young talent in the draft?

Some, including former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, think Alabama quarterback Mac Jones would be a great fit in New England, citing his accuracy and his "it" factor.

Spending $14 million on Newton is a reminder that the Patriots have some money to play with this offseason. According to Wright, it could also mean the Patriots simply didn’t see a better option.

"It was an indication that the Patriots were a little concerned about Cam hitting the open market because they have no plan B."

Plus, he might have been the best option, according to Marshall.

"This is a win-win for the New England Patriots and Cam Newton," Marshall said on "First Things First." "If Cam can get back to where he needs to be and Bill Belichick does his job, man, this team could be right back in contention."

Given a full and healthy season, improved weapons around him and another year under Belichick, will Newton be the answer for the Patriots? Can he lead the team back to glory?

Time will tell. But with Tom Brady basking in the glow of his championship by signing an extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, there will be plenty of scrutiny if he doesn't.