Former New England Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest is a proponent of his former team signing free-agent quarterback Cam Newton.
McGinest said he believes Newton and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would have a “great working relationship,” and said the organization has tremendous “respect” for Newton, via Adam London of NESN.
” … I think that Bill Belichick has handled so many different personalities that they would coexist,” McGinest said Thursday on FOX Sports 1’s “Speak For Yourself.” “It would be a great working relationship. I’m just telling you guys right now, there is a lot of respect from the Patriots organization when it comes to Cam Newton. They have played several times and Cam Newton has showed out and played at a high level every single time they’ve played.”
Despite McGinest's opinion, the Patriots have not shown much interest in signing Newton, who became a free agent when the Carolina Panthers cut him in March.
For starters, the Pats do not have a lot of cap space to work with. New England has just over $1 million in cap space, per Over The Cap, and it would likely take much more to bring in Newton.
Secondly, the Pats have hardly engaged in conversations with any number of free-agent quarterbacks. Despite previous reports suggesting the Pats were interested in Andy Dalton, it appears they never seriously signed Dalton prior to him joining the Dallas Cowboys.
Moreover, New England might be content riding things out with Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham competing for the starting job.
Newton would almost certainly be the starter in New England. However, concerns about his health (paired with cap restrictions) make it somewhat unlikely the Patriots sign the former MVP.
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