Getty Cam Newton
The New England Patriots and Cam Newton seem to be a great match, and one former NFL GM seems to believe it will not be a one-and-done situation. Mike Tannenbaum, who was the general manager of the New York Jets from 2006-12, but now works as an analyst on ESPN said he expects to hear the Patriots and Newton discussing an extension soon, and that he could be the team’s quarterback for the next five years.
.@RealTannenbaum thinks we could be talking about a contract extension for Cam Newton soon.
“I think he could be the Patriots quarterback for the next three, four, five years.”
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More From Mike Tannenbaum on Cam Newton
Tannenbaum was especially complimentary and optimistic about Newton’s ability to succeed with the Patriots and his current set of offensive weapons. Tannenbaum said:
When you go back to Cam’s MVP season, his top three weapons were Greg Olsen, Ted Ginn Jr., and Jerricho Cotchery. When you compare that to this group of weapons–albeit not perfect, Cam Newton has a good skill set to work with, and I think this offense will be really hard to defend. Because it’s going to be diverse with RPOs, direct quarterback runs, Julian Edelman, running backs that can catch the ball.
Let’s process this because there is a lot to unpack. We can optimistically envision Devin Asiasi turning into an Olsen-type player. Perhaps Damiere Byrd can be Ginn-like, and if N’Keal Harry isn’t at least Cotchery, the Patriots will have missed miserably on their 2019 first-round pick. Obviously, Newton’s ability to make plays with his legs is important, and of course, Edelman has to be healthy, along with Sony Michel, James White and J.J. Taylor.
Cam Newton As Comeback Player of the Year, and The Patriots as AFC Contenders, and a Contract Extension?
Tannenbaum had more major predictions to put on our minds. He continued:
Mark my words, in two to three weeks, the early storylines that we’ll be talking about is when is Cam Newton getting that extension? Cam Newton Comeback Player of the Year. Can they keep up with Baltimore and Kansas City in the AFC? So, if and it’s a big if, if Cam Newton stays healthy, I love this match and more importantly moving forward, I think he could be the Patriots’quarterback for the next three, four, five years.
There’s even more here to process. An extension is something that has been discussed by other members of the media. This subject came up when the Patriots cleared major cap space. Currently, Newton is only going to make $7.5 million this season, and that’s if he reaches tons of individual and team incentives.
If the Patriots make the postseason, let alone winning the division, and Newton plays at least 14 games, he’ll win the CPOTY. You can bet on that. That level of success would prompt questions and comparisons between the Patriots, Chiefs and Ravens. As Tannenbaum mentioned, Newton’s health is paramount here. This will require him to run a little more safely than he has in the past, but this is football, and there are no guarantees.
Still, Tannebaum’s perspective represents the best of Patriots fans’ hopes.