Odds Of Cam Newton Signing With Patriots Make Huge Jump After NFL Draft
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- With regard to the Patriots and their quarterback situation, nothing really changed over the weekend. Bill Belichick and crew sat by idly as 13 quarterbacks were selected, seemingly content to stick with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, plus a couple of undrafted free agents at the most important position in sports.
Or are they?
If some oddsmakers have anything to say about it, the Patriots have themselves a big move coming, as the Patriots are suddenly the team considered most likely to sign Cam Newton, according to Fanduel's sportsbook.
Fanduel has made the Patriots massive favorites to land Newton, giving them minus-190 odds of signing the 2015 MVP.
There's a significant gap between the Patriots and the second-ranked team, too, as the Jacksonville Jaguars are at plus-300 to sign Newton.
That's a major shift from the weekend, too. NESN reported that FanDuel had the Patriots at +400 entering Sunday before jumping to -190.
The group of teams is rounded out by the Steelers (+750), Broncos (+1000), Bears (+1100), Raiders (+1500) and Redskins (+1500).
Stidham is still the favorite to be the Patriots' Week 1 starter, at -160. But Newton isn't too far behind, at +170. (Hoyer is at +550.)
SportsLine has the Patriots as favorites, as well, albeit much closer to the Jaguars. SportsLine has the Patriots at +250 and the Jaguars at +350.
While Newton remains unsigned, and while the Patriots' quarterback situation does not appear to be Super Bowl-caliber at this point in time, signing Newton is no simple task. The Patriots have one of the the worst salary cap situation in the NFL, so with Newton still costing a decent chunk of change, the Patriots would need to clear significant cap space in order to genuinely consider signing him.
Newton is also coming off foot surgery, and with medical evaluations more difficult to come by during the coronavirus pandemic, such an issue could serve as a significant hurdle for any team looking to sign the soon-to-be 31-year-old QB.
The Athletic's Jeff Howe also said that, according to a source, the Patriots aren't interested in Newton.
But presumably, the Patriots could still trade Joe Thuney for some future picks, thus clearing more than $14 million in cap space, thus paving the way for a splash signing that could change the course of the 2020 season for the Patriots.
You may not think it will happen, and you may end up being right. But someone somewhere in charge of some serious cash flow has an inkling that Newton to New England is going to happen.
