The Carolina Panthers are searching for a new franchise quarterback after a disappointing 2020 season from Teddy Bridgewater. While we don’t know who will be Carolina’s starter this year, things are certainly looking up for their former QB1 in New England.
Over the weekend, Cam Newton re-signed with the Patriots on a similar one-year, incentive-heavy deal as in 2020. Bill Belichick has followed that up with the most aggressive free agent push we’ve ever seen during his tenure in New England. In fact, he’s already in all-time guaranteed money territory.
In less than 24 hours, the Patriots have guaranteed over $137.5 million, placing them second in NFL history for most guaranteed money in a free-agent signing period. The record could be theirs before free agency officially begins at 4 pm Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/fEyRItUjvL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
Already, the Pats have signed the top two tight ends on the market in Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry. They’ve also acquired wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.
Newton had arguably the league’s worst offensive skill group to work with last year after Julian Edelman’s season-ending injury. So, you can imagine he’s thrilled with the news. Here’s what he shared on Instagram this morning.
Together Smith, Henry, Agholor and Bourne combined for 22 touchdown catches last season, 10 more than New England scored as a team.
Newton is understandably excited. The one-two punch at tight end is especially alluring given what Belichick and Tom Brady got out of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez together in a previous era.
The AFC East is shaping up to be as brutal as any division next year with the Bills and Dolphins also being legitimate conference contenders.
