The New England Patriots lost the best quarterback of all-time in free agency when Tom Brady took his talents to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Replacing him is an impossible task, but the addition of Cam Newton should give the Patriots a tremendous chance to remain competitive in the 2020 NFL season.

The veteran quarterback reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the Pats that pays him just $550,000 guaranteed and could be worth up to $7.5 million if all incentives in the deal are met.

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Michael Lombardi is a former league executive who's worked with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during his time in New England and with the Cleveland Browns. On the latest episode of Lombardi's "The GM Shuffle" podcast, he explained why bringing in Newton was a "no-brainer" for Belichick.

“You talk about 2015, granted that was the MVP season, but if you really study '18 and really examine those eight games in 2018 -- the last time he won was Nov. 4, 2018 against the Buccaneers -- he was sensational,” Lombardi said. “Here's what you're going to get with Cam Newton: You're going to get a guaranteed 3,600 yards passing. You're going to get 600 yards, minimum, rushing. You're going to get over seven yards per pass attempt. And you're going to get a low percentage of interceptions

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"In 2018, he threw 15 touchdown passes and four interceptions before the shoulder injury. He was averaging 7.2 yards per attempt. He was electrifying. He only was sacked 12 times in those eight games, which was really low for the Carolina Panthers with their offensive line. So book those numbers and then add in the Josh McDaniels factor, add in the Patriots factor, and you’re probably looking at 4,200 yards passing, you’re probably looking at 750 rushing, and you're looking at 7.3 or 7.4 yards per attempt. If he stays healthy, he’s going to get Comeback Player of the Year. This was a no-brainer for the Patriots to do it."

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The money alone makes the deal an easy one for the Patriots. New England has almost no salary cap space, so to get a player of Newton's caliber for so little money easily is worth the gamble. 

Newton, if healthy, is still a fantastic quarterback capable of exposing defenses with his arm and his legs. The worry is Newton's durability. He's 31 years old and coming off a 2019 season during which he missed the Carolina Panthers' last 14 games due to injuries. 

So, there's some risk in adding Newton to the roster, but there's no doubt he'll be extremely motivated to shut up his critics and earn another huge payday next offseason. From a motivation and team need perspective, Newton and the Patriots have the potential to be a great partnership.

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The last time Cam Newton played at a high level was the first half of the 2018 NFL season with the Carolina Panthers, and Norv Turner was his offensive coordinator at the time.

Newton threw 14 touchdown passes with four interceptions and led the Panthers to a 6-2 record in the first eight games. A shoulder injury suffered in the middle of the season prevented him from maintaining that MVP-caliber form, and the Panthers suffered as a result by finishing the season 7-9. Carolina lost the last six games Newton played in 2018. Injuries again impacted him in 2019, and he played in just two games last season before the Panthers released him in March.

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The next chapter of Newton's career will come with the New England Patriots, where he'll give head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels a different skill set at the quarterback position than what Tom Brady provided for the last 20 years. 

Turner is confident the Patriots looked at Newton's play from the first half of 2018 when evaluating the fit he could have in New England. 

"The biggest thing if I could look into the minds of New England and coach (Bill) Belichick when they looked at Cam, I'm sure they looked at, No. 1, when he was playing well. That was the first half of two seasons ago, through a 10-game stretch his numbers were awfully good," Turner said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. "He was playing at a high level, and I think the shoulder was an issue and kept him from doing the things at the end of the season that he had been doing. So I'm sure they looked at things he was doing that were similar to what they do.

"With (Christian) McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Greg Olsen, we were doing things that have pretty much been done by a lot of teams in the league -- the high percentage things like the crossing routes, getting receivers on the run, the options runs with (McCaffrey), which are things that are very similar to what New England does and a lot of people do in the league, it's just how you package it. I'm sure they looked at those things."

Patriots Talk Podcast: Should Pats give Newton a raise with newfound cap space? | Listen & subscribe | Watch on YouTube

What's the biggest threat Newton poses to opposing defenses? Turner pointed to Newton's ability to make things happen on the run on critical downs.

"When you talk about Cam, you got to look at the things he can do -- the designed runs -- and I don't think you have to do a lot of them, but I think if you do just enough and sprinkle them in, you give the defense something they have to prepare for," Turner explained. 

"The threat that I always thought was Cam's biggest threat was when the play broke down and he was able to take off and run, particularly on third down and get those big first downs. Through the first part of the (2018) season he was very successful at doing that. I think the biggest issue I would have is his health. I would have to think that New England, before they signed him, were pretty darn thorough in making sure they knew he was healthy."

Health will always be the concern with Newton, but if he's able to stay on the field, his signing could prove to be one of Belichick's better free agent moves over the last decade.

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The opt-out deadline loometh.

By 4 p.m. Thursday, any NFL player in the “high-risk” category can opt out and receive $350,000 and credit for an accrued season. Players without the “high-risk” designation will be paid $150,000. That money will be considered an advance on their 2021 salaries.

As of Wednesday night, 60 players had opted out, including eight Patriots. Meanwhile, 56 players tested positive for COVID during initial screening as they reported for this very different training camp. That’s fewer than three percent of all players. Another 107 had it prior to reporting. Those numbers are according to the NFLPA.

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So what will Thursday bring? The Patriots are leading the league in opt-outs by a wide margin. Four Browns have opted out as of Thursday morning. Several teams have three opt outs.

A team’s fortunes can be radically altered by an opt-out if a key player decides the risk is too great for him or his family. The AFC East has probably seen the most consequential opt outs so far.  

Expectations for the Patriots have to be reconfigured as they figure out how to best replace Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung and Marcus Cannon. The Jets are going to be without talented linebacker C.J. Mosley. The Dolphins are without wide receivers Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson. And the Bills have lost corner E.J. Gaines and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.

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Meanwhile, their brilliant corner Tre’Davious White was still wrestling with his decision on Thursday morning and railing on Twitter that he was being criticized for debating it. The replies are — as you might imagine — a trip. Maintaining the status quo on this topic, a fleet of people wonder how come they don’t get to opt out of their 9-to-5.

Crazy that me choosing my family’s wellbeing over a game comes with so called fans attacking and questioning me and saying I’m selfish. No you guys are selfish for thinking that football is bigger than life. Oh by the way my girl’s grandfather passed from COVID. U understand now?

— Tre'Davious White (@TakeAwayTre_) August 6, 2020

Because you can’t. OK? Maybe if you tackled people at work you’d have a shot, but you probably don’t. And if you do tackle people at work and you didn’t get the opt-out provision, you gotta get yourself to the NFL ASAFP.

Will the Patriots lose any more players? Certainly could. A number of players are still wrestling with it. With a decision so personal and difficult, I’ve come to realize it’s unfair to speculate on individual players and why they may or may not decide to play. (Patrick Chung helped me get there…).

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For the lion’s share, the decision is so difficult because it revolves around factors other than their or their family’s personal health. It’s not cut-and-dried.

Age, finances, professional satisfaction, all of it can weigh in.

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, asked last week if he considered opting out, said, "Uh, nope I feel like our team is so, so close to a championship.”

We’ll keep you updated throughout the day and Phil Perry and I will sift through all of it on Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast after the deadline. 

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