The Patriots were officially eliminated from the postseason with their 22-12 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, which has fueled speculation that head coach Bill Belichick will switch starting quarterbacks.
Cam Newton finished Sunday’s game 17-of-27 passing for 209 yards, getting sacked on fourth down with a little over a minute to play to seal the loss. New England didn’t score a touchdown in the game, its offense largely ineffective.
Belichick said “we’ll see” when asked if he’d start second-year QB Jarrett Stidham over Newton. During a Monday interview on WEEI, Newton was asked if he thinks he’ll still be New England’s QB1 this week.
“I’m going to leave it up to the people who I’ve been leaving it up to since Day 1. I’m not going to feed into that,” Newton said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I’m still on a job interview, to be honest with you.”
Newton has thrown for 2,381 yards with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He’s also rushed for 489 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The quarterback was also asked if he’s considered retiring and replied he hasn’t.
“Listen, I am not there. One of my goals this year, for what’s worth, was just to finish the year healthy. This year God has granted and gave me the opportunity to have a healthy season,” Newton said, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “I still have a lot of football left and the urge to be better. After putting out this film? I can’t go out like this.”
After playing just two games in 2019 and going through 2018 with a shoulder injury, Newton being able to play throughout this season is an accomplishment — small though it may seem. But now that the Patriots won’t be competing for a championship, Newton may have run out of opportunities to display his effectiveness as a QB in 2020.