When long-time New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady left town, incoming sophomore Jarrett Stidham and veteran Brian Hoyer were among the names who are expected to vie for the vacant starting spot.

All that was blurred when the team decided to sign the 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton to a bargain one-year veteran deal. The dynamics of a team always changes when a bonafide personality like that of Newton suddenly enters the equation:

“Jarrett and I had talked and said, ‘If anyone is in town, normally we'd be doing this right now, and we have to be smart about it.' So we kind of put it together [in May]. Then once Cam came along, we had one or two more sessions, and we did that,” Hoyer explained. “Look, this is the NFL. People come in the room, you embrace it and you're teammates.”

Cam Newton is set to enter a new phase of his career with the Patriots after being one of the premier faces of the league back in 2015. He directed the Carolina Panthers offense that went on to have an outstanding 15-1 record. After winning the MVP honor that season, the former Auburn Tiger went on to lead his Carolina Panthers team deep into the playoffs. However, his squad failed to cap an incredible run as they eventually succumbed to the hands of the dominant Denver Broncos, 24-10, in Super Bowl 50.

Newton was eventually plagued with several injuries in the following seasons and he never found his 2015 form again. On March 24, 2020, after failing to find a trade partner, the team announced they had officially released Newton until he landed in New England four months later.

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On the other hand, Jarrett Stidham is a young quarterback who was picked by the team with the 133rd pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Brian Hoyer is a returning veteran who is on his third stint with the team. On September 2, 2019, Hoyer signed a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts but was later released in March 2020. Later on the same month, he was picked up by the Patriots as an extra body.

With the training camps already underway, so is the competition for the starting quarterback position. Patriots nation is raring to finally see who their QB1 is come Week 1.