Bill Belichick on Cam Newton Signing: 'I'm Glad It Worked Out'
Speaking to the media on Friday for the first time since the final day of the NFL Draft, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked what appealed to him in regards to Cam Newton - a former MVP quarterback that the Patriots signed on June 28.
"Things worked out. We spent quite a bit of time with Cam [Newton], he spent quite a bit of time with us," Belichick said. "It was a mutual interest. We spoke to a number of different people and had a number of different conversations, just trying to see how the fit would be. It was very positive on our end. I'm glad it worked out."
Without any on-field work with Newton this offseason, there honestly isn't much more that New England's head coach could say about the veteran QB.
Training camp officially begins for the Patriots next week, which will start with physicals and meeting rookies and others face-to-face for the first time. That's when the evaluation process can really begin for New England's coaching staff, specifically when it pertains to the quarterback situation they have on their hands.
When training camp begins, the first two weeks will include an acclimation and ramp-up period for players to make sure everyone is in physical shape before padded, contact practices begin. Aug. 17 is the first time NFL teams will be able to hold a "normal" practice, which will include full pads and contact.
Because New England will enter training camp with 80 players on their roster as opposed to 90, they are not required to cut any bodies until Sept. 5. They will also be allowed to practice as a full team, which Belichick explained is the reasoning behind the Patriots entering camp with an 80-man roster as opposed to a 90-man roster, which would have then required them to have split-squad practices.
