Cam Newton appears frustrated with questions about whether he fits with Bill Belichick
New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton is tired of the questions. He’s tired of the insinuations. He and Bill Belichick are working together to win football games — and it’s going well. They’re 2-1, with one loss to the undefeated Seattle Seahawks.
It’s about time people accept the fact that Newton is a hard worker, an exemplary leader and a player who performs to Belichick’s high standards. They’re a good match.
“I’ve been laughing a lot in my entire career about ‘who Cam Newton really is.’ And that’s just the honest truth. Here I am in year 10 trying to explain the person and the player that I am,” Newton said Monday morning on an appearance on the “Greg Hill Show” on WEEI. “It’s just, at some times, disrespectful, because you don’t question certain quarterbacks. You don’t have to question Russell Wilson. You don’t have to question Tom Brady. And I hate to name drop there. But it’s just gotten to that point. Obviously, me being the new face and obviously, people are trying to find and dig through certain things. They don’t necessarily know that I’m the ultimate professional.”
Belichick has a history of wearing on his players. Brady, of course, lasted two decades, but over the last five years, his fraying relationship with Belichick was under the microscope. It was one of the discussed topics in sports. Similarly, Belichick’s relationship with stars like Rob Gronkowski and Randy Moss grew more complicated over time. The honeymoon phase is always nice with Belichick — but he’s not an easy coach to play for.
That said, Newton’s impressive work ethic has been a topic of discussion since he signed with New England. One of the first things he posted on Instagram after joining the Patriots was a photo of him studying the playbook. Both Josh McDaniels and Belichick have showed Newton love for his hard work and talent, which led him to win the starting quarterback job for 2020.
“I come to work each and every day and I try to get whatever team the best opportunity to win for them, my teammates, the people in the front office, the coaches,” Newton said. “[I] put them at ease knowing that their quarterback is going to put them in the best position to win.”
