Cam Newton explains his theory on why Patriots released him originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Cam Newton is a man of his word.
The veteran quarterback said he'd open up about his release from the New England Patriots in his weekly "Funky Friday" video on YouTube. Sure enough, Newton dropped a video Friday morning in which he and his father, Cecil, discussed all aspects of his Foxboro exit.
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Newton described the moment he realized rookie Mac Jones had beaten him out for the starting QB job, detailing a run-in with a staffer at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
"I walked in and they were like, 'Wait, Cam, Bill wants to meet with you,'" Newton said. "I'm like, 'OK, cool, But Bill’s office is down here.'
"They were like, 'No, he’s in here.' And that’s when I was like, 'Oh, OK. I see what’s going on.'"
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Both head coach Bill Belichick and Senior Football Advisor Matt Patricia were in the meeting, and Newton admitted he was surprised the team released him outright instead of offering him a backup job.
"They told me they were going to give the reins to Mac," Newton said. "And I was like, 'OK cool.' ... It didn't dawn on me that I was like ... 'Y'all releasing me.'
" ... I was confused. We were all shocked. It was uncomfortable for everybody."
After the shock wore off, Newton said he had a theory for why New England didn't keep him around to back up Jones.
"The reason why they released me is because, indirectly, I was gonna be a distraction without being the starter," Newton said. "Just my aura. ... That’s my gift and my curse. When you bring a Cam Newton to your franchise, people are interested by the mere fact of, 'Who is he? Why does he wear his hair (like that)? Why does he talk, why does he act, why does he perform (like that)?'"
Newton insisted he would have accepted a backup role behind Jones if the Patriots offered, but said he believed the rookie would have been "uncomfortable" with that dynamic.
"That comes by the mere fact of me being me," Newton said.
Newton addressed several other topics -- including his opinion of Jones and his five-day, COVID-related absence from the team in late August -- in the video, which you can watch below or on YouTube.
