The New England Patriots could bring back a familiar face to serve as quarterback next year but give him a new role, a report indicates.
There have been plenty of rumors about what the Patriots might do at quarterback for next season after Cam Newton struggled with injury and inconsistency. The team is still searching for a long-term replacement for Tom Brady, but the new report speculates that the team could take a slower approach at finding the next franchise signal caller.
There has been speculation that the Patriots could take a swing for one of the big-name quarterbacks expected to be available. Insiders believe that this offseason could bring unprecedented movement among signal callers, with as many as 20 teams starting the upcoming season with someone different behind the center than they had in 2020.
Some have linked the Patriots to Deshaun Watson, who asked the Houston Texans for a trade, though other reports have indicated that the Texans plan to keep him.
If the Patriots do decide to move on from Newton and go after another quarterback, it could be costly. Competition for Watson and other big names potentially available this offseason -- including Russell Wilson -- is expected to be high, with several other teams in the running.
That could mean an asking price that includes several first-round picks, something that would be valuable to a Patriots club looking to rebuild after falling out of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
A new report from Fansided's Chowder and Champions suggests that the Patriots could actually bring back Newton as a short-term fix while developing his eventual replacement.
"Without Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, this team has two options. They can go for broke and trade a plethora of assets (like 3 first-round picks they would likely squander anyway and maybe even other players) to try to select the next great Patriots quarterback of the future," the report noted.
The second option, the report added, would be to re-sign Newton while drafting a first-round quarterback that would develop slowly for the next season or two.
As The Spun reported, other NFL insiders believe that Newton will not return to the Patriots and will find a starting job elsewhere after hitting free agency. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report predicted that he would find his way to the Washington Football Team, another club that struggled to find a permanent signal caller.
As the report noted, Washington would seem a good fit for Newton as it would allow him to reunite with Ron Rivera, the head coach on the Carolina Panthers for the first eight years of Newton's career.
