The New England Patriots may have filled out their quarterback need at the moment by surprisingly bringing back Cam Newton to another one-year deal, but the search for Tom Brady's heir apparent is reportedly still going on.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft made this clear on Wednesday, claiming the storied franchise still needs to make improvements with its quarterback situation.

“One way or another, we have to get that position solidified,” the 79-year-old billionaire said, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. 

After the Cam Newton experiment did not exactly work out for the Patriots last season, a lot of eyebrows were raised when the team decided to re-sign the former NFL MVP to another short-term deal. Most pundits feel it was just a knee-jerk reaction for New England, after missing out on several prized players in the quarterback trade bonanza in the offseason. The Patriots already denied interest in bringing back former signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo.

In 15 starts for the Patriots, Newton threw 2,657 yards, eight touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Those numbers are not exactly terrible, but New England is obviously expecting more for every quarterback.

Kraft, meanwhile, still praised Newton's first season with the team, regardless of the criticism he received.

“In fairness to Cam, I'm not sure he had the proper weapons around him last year. Then he got COVID and a lot of things happened,” he said of Newton.

The Patriots went 7-9 last season and missed the postseason for the first time since 2008.