It remains to be seen if the New England Patriots will bring back quarterback Cam Newton in 2021.

A team source deflected when asked by Josina Anderson:

New England signed Newton to a one-year deal last summer, and the former league MVP promptly won the starting job.

Newton excelled in his first two games, rushing for four combined touchdowns and throwing for nearly 400 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But the rest of the season proved far more challenging.

The veteran signal-caller finished with a 7-8 mark in 15 starts, completing nearly 66 percent of his attempts and averaging 7.2 yards gained per pass attempt. Those are respectable numbers, to be sure, especially considering Cam also rushed for 592 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns.

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However, Newton rarely hit on big passing plays and also threw just eight touchdown passes. Newton was quite poor in the red zone, connecting on just over 52 percent of his attempts from inside the 20-yard line. His 47.4 total QBR was the second-lowest mark of his career, not including a 2019 season in which Newton played just two games.

New England will have choices to make this offseason. The Patriots have plenty of projected cap space in 2021, and they could also look to trade for a franchise quarterback like Deshaun Watson, whose name has surfaced in the rumor mill as of late.

Perhaps Bill Belichick and Co. will actually decide to run it back with Newton. But there is no guarantee Newton himself wants to return to New England.

Regardless, those decisions appear to be a ways away.