Cam Newton discusses his top ‘regret’ during his time as Patriots QB

Patriots

“I feed off of the energy of people.”

Cam Newton only spent one full season in Foxborough, with the veteran QB and former NFL MVP handed the unenviable task of replacing Tom Brady as quarterback during the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign.

During his 15 games, Newton threw for eight touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 2,657 passing yards while also rushing for 592 touchdowns and 12 scores.

New England re-signed him to a one-year deal in 2021, but the signal caller was supplanted by Mac Jones as the team’s QB1 and was released during final roster cuts in late August.

It was a relatively unremarkable run for Newton with the Patriots, who was given the reins to a New England offense during a year where the ongoing pandemic prevented fans from attending games at Gillette Stadium.

Speaking to former Patriots wideout Jakobi Meyers on the latest episode of his “4th & 1” Youtube series, Newton acknowledged that his greatest regret during his time in New England was not being able to play in a packed house in Foxborough. 

“My biggest regret from New England is the fact that I didn’t play in front of the fans,” Newton said. “Because me being me, I feed off of the energy of people, whether it’s a ‘boo!’, whether it’s a ‘ooh’, whether it’s a ‘ahh!’ or a ‘nahh!’

“I feed off of that and I use that. And when we was in [those] doggone stadiums and it was empty, they was pumping crowd noise, I’m like, ‘Man, this (expletive) is weak.’”

Newton, who also discussed Meyers’ own path through the NFL during “4th & 1”, also tipped his cap to Mac Jones after the Patriots QB led New England on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter en route to a 29-25 upset win over the Bills last Sunday.

Jones completed 25 of his 30 pass attempts for 272 yards while throwing for two touchdowns and zero interceptions. 

“For the first time this year, I really saw emotions out of Mac Jones,” Newton said. “That competitiveness. He was making big-time throws, playing with confidence. Even in murky, dirty pockets, he was still making plays — like Mac Jones can.”