N’Keal Harry and Damiere Byrd explains why Cam Newton’s confidence has been so beneficial for the team
Cam Newton has been everything the New England Patriots hoped he'd be since he signed a one-year deal with the team in June.
The 31-year-old quarterback has been outstanding through his first two games in a Pats uniform and has been impressive with his off-the-field attitude as well. Newton stated Tuesday that a contract extension is "the least of his worries" and that that the only thing that matters right now is winning football games.
But if Newton can keep this up, should the Patriots consider breaking out the engagement ring for the 2015 NFL MVP? Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discussed whether New England should commit long-term to Newton on a brand new edition of the Patriots Talk Podcast.
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Patriots Talk Podcast: Is it time for the Patriots to look long-term with Cam Newton? | Listen & subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I think an engagement ring is too strong. An elaborate gift I think would be nice," Perry said. "The commitment for multiple years beyond this one is something that I would certainly take my time with if I'm the Patriots because we know Cam Newton's history, we know he's on the other side of 30.
"All it takes is one hit, and if you've committed 10s of millions of dollars to this guy for multiple years and it turns out he's going to miss an extended period of time, not a great investment. Especially when you're trying to build this team the way we've talked about they're going to have to build it for the long term."
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Of course, if Newton does continue to shine, it'll be difficult to make an argument against giving the ex-Carolina Panthers QB a nice chunk of change.
Curran uses star cornerback Stephon Gilmore's pay raise as an example of how the Patriots have handled this kind of situation before.
"Forget about [Jarrett] Stidham and [Brian] Hoyer, if Cam Newton can play at this level, you have to start thinking how long can this sustain and do we want him and do we need him? And they did it with Stephon Gilmore ahead of what they normally will schedule. Two years out, gave him a $5 million raise. ... It buys good will."
Also discussed in the episode: What is the ceiling for Damiere Byrd? How will the Patriots’ offense attack the Raiders’ defense? And Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times gives first impressions of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network or on YouTube.
