The friendship between the New England Patriots‘ Cam Newton and the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson goes back several years to when the latter was a part of the 2015 NFL MVP’s 7-on-7 youth team.
Today, Watson is one of the league’s best quarterbacks, but he’s unhappy with the Texans and has asked to be traded. Watson reportedly reiterated this desire during a recent meeting with the team’s new head coach David Culley.
Watson has been speaking somewhat cryptically on social media since his displeasure with the organization became public knowledge. His most recent tweet was centered around the importance of loyalty.
Loyalty is everything. Don’t you EVER forget it.
The tweet above has been retweeted more than 26,000 times as of Friday afternoon, and one of those retweets came from Newton.
GettyCam Newton Retweet
Newton is likely showing support for his friend, but we all know that when you’re a celebrity, even things like this will garner some attention.
That said, considering Newton’s impending free agency, there might be a little more to work with as the public and media wonder if the veteran quarterback is drawing some parallels to his own situation.
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A Hint That Cam Newton is Returning
Forgive me if I’m reading too much into Newton’s retweet, but because of how much we’ve been seeing of him over the past week, it could be concluded he’s beginning to get some sense of where he’ll be in 2021.
Newton made it clear during a recent interview on the I Am Athlete podcast, he wants to come back to the Patriots.
With that established, is it possible Newton has gotten some indication the Patriots want him back? If so, Newton may see Bill Belichick’s decision to run it back with him in 2021 as a sign of loyalty.
After incentives, the Patriots paid Newton less than $4 million in 2020. He took the contract part;y because he’d waited too long, and it was the only team that was given him a legitimate opportunity to start.
Still, Newton might have been able to earn more in a backup role for another team. Case in point, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Marcus Mariota to be Derek Carr’s backup for two years at $17.6 million. Even if Newton signed to be a backup for less than Mariota’s deal, he could have still made more than he did with the Patriots in 2020.
Was the retweet a message of appreciation?
A Hint That Cam Newton is Not Returning
On the flip side, is Newton getting the idea that he won’t be back in New England? Was he led to believe there was a chance, and now he’s beginning to see otherwise?
The Patriots have been predictably tight-lipped about this situation, and Newton declined an invitation to discuss any communication he may have had with the team up to this point. One thing is for sure, with free agency beginning on March 17, the answer to questions about Newton’s future and what the Patriots are going to do at quarterback will be coming sooner than later.
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Cam Newton Reacts to Deshaun Watson’s Strong Tweet