When Tom Brady made his decision official last week to leave the New England Patriots and then sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs, it left a gaping hole at QB for a franchise that has not had to deal with that in 20 years.
With quarterbacks like Andy Dalton and Cam Newton set to leave their franchise in 2020, most thought that one of them would make their way to New England. Adam Schefter says not so fast.
The ESPN NFL insider stated on Monday’s episode of Get Up, “I don’t think the Patriots are clamoring for either option right now.” He then pointed to both of their salaries, with Newton having a $19.1 million 2020 salary and Dalton’s $17 million-plus salary as the driving factors.
“There’s nobody that the Patriots have identified that money is worth spending on,” Schefter noted, adding, “Right now, they feel pretty comfortable with the quarterback position” with Brian Hoyer, Jarrett Stidham and Cody Kessler.
Newton will be 31-years-old and has played just 2 games before having to undergo surgery on his foot. Still, he is a former league MVP and has more still left in the tank.
Dalton is on his way out as the Bengals get set to take Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. The three-time Pro Bowler did lead the Bengals to 5-straight playoff appearances, but couldn’t register a single victory.
As of right now, the Patriots might just give the team over to Jarrett Stidham to see what he can do. If he’s terrible, then it can ultimately lead to a top pick in 2021 and Trevor Lawrence can fall right in their laps.
