New England Patriots: Are Cam Newton, Jameis Winston viable Brady replacements?
Tom Brady is gone from the New England Patriots but could Cam Newton or Jameis Winston be the right replacement at quarterback?
It’s a weird time for the New England Patriots as they go through a transitional period within a critical position on the team for the first time in over two decades. On Tuesday, Patriots legendary quarterback Tom Brady shocked the NFL by announcing he’d not be staying in New England. Later, reports came out that he would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now, New England is faced with the critical decision of whether or not it wants to rebuild or rather retool for the upcoming year and going into the future.
If the Patriots decide to do a total rebuild, Brady isn’t and wouldn’t be the only familiar face on the team that would end up playing for a new team this season. New England would likely shed as much as it is able to while trying to stockpile on assets moving forward.
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If the Patriots decide to try and retool, which you would think would be ultimately their first and preferred choice this offseason, they could reach out into the free-agent market or find a hidden gem in the draft to fill some needs for at least the next few years.
When it comes to the free-agent market and specifically who the Patriots could bring in to replace Brady, there are a few quarterbacks on the market that New England could look towards to take over for its now-former quarterback under center.
Although names like Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees are now (reportedly) off the market, there are two intriguing options still out there for the Patriots to potentially look into and explore going into the 2020 campaign.
Specifically, the two quarterbacks that could draw New England’s attention — and the interest would likely be mutual — are Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and former Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston.
When it comes to Newton, that option could be the most interesting one for the Patriots, given the fact that — when healthy — he is one of the more dangerous quarterbacks in the entire league. The trickiest part of adding him is New England would have to work out a trade with Carolina after the Panthers agreed with Bridgewater in free agency.
Newton, a former NFL MVP who led the Panthers to the Super Bowl just a few years ago, has the ability to add an aspect to the New England offense that it hasn’t had in two decades. He is a versatile quarterback that can hurt defenses with both his cannon of an arm and his with his legs in the running game.
The 30-year-old ended up appearing in just two games for Carolina in 2019, dealing with a season-ending foot injury that resulted in him undergoing surgery during the year. In those two games, however, Newton tallied 572 yards passing with one interception, completing 56.2 percent of his passes.
In 2017, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also told the media prior to the Patriots facing the Panthers that Newton is near the top of the list of quarterbacks who are a complete package and are able to throw, run and are also hard to tackle and contain on offense. So it appears interest could be there.
When it comes to Winston, he will likely be available on the free-agent market with Brady reportedly leaning towards signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winston shares a lot of similar traits to that of Newton, although he is a little more careless in the pocket compared to Newton. Winston has a big-time arm and can air things out at any given point, while also taking things over on the ground with his legs.
During the 2019 season, the 26-year-old quarterback completed his fifth season in the NFL and with the Buccaneers, appearing in all 16 regular-season contests for Tampa Bay. He managed to throw for a career-best 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, also rushing for 250 yards and one touchdown. He did, however, manage to throw a career-most 30 interceptions while completing just 60.7 percent of his 626 pass attempts under center.
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With the quarterback market starting to thin out, Winston could end up being one of the best remaining quarterbacks available if Brady — or another quarterback — indeed decides to join Tampa Bay to replace Winston and push him out of the starting role with the Buccaneers.
The Patriots now know they will be without Brady for the first time since 2000, but now the quest for a new quarterback begins in New England. And Cam Newton and Jameis Winston are two interesting options to replace No. 12.