The New England Patriots are replacing TOM BRADY with CAM NEWTON. The team hasn’t formally announced it yet, but sources say it’s a one-year deal that could be worth up to $7.5 million.
Cam will have to compete for the starting job, and a lot of the money is tied to incentives that he can trigger if he hits certain stat and playing time thresholds.
New England now has three quarterbacks: Cam, Jarrett Stidham, and Brian Hoyer, but obviously, Cam SHOULD have the inside track if he’s healthy. (But with BILL BELICHICK . . . who knows.)
Cam is 31, and he became a free agent in March when the Carolina Panthers released him. He missed 14 games last season with a foot injury. And he missed a couple games the previous year with a shoulder injury.
Brady, of course, left the Pats for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
By the way, the NFL has punished the Patriots for illegally taping the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline last year. They’ll be fined $1.1 million . . . they’ll lose a third-round pick in 2021 . . . and their TV crews can’t shoot games during this season.