Rescheduled Bye Week Good News For Cam Newton, Patriots
The New England Patriots' Week 5 game against the Denver Broncos was postponed to next Sunday, Oct. 18, after another Patriots player -- defensive tackle Byron Cowart -- tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
The schedule change was a last-minute maneuver for a New England team that was planning on having a bye week in Week 6, but instead had their in-season week of rest this past week. However, there's plenty of reasons why the unscheduled bye week works in the favor of the Patriots, and more specifically their starting quarterback.
Cam Newton, who was the first Patriots player to test positive for the coronavirus over the past 10 days, missed New England's Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. And while he may have had the opportunity to be active for the team's Monday evening bout against the Broncos, there was also a chance that he would have had to miss the Week 5 game as well, which would have left money on the table.
Newton's incentive-ladened contract with the Patriots includes playing time. He can earn maximum of $2.25 million in that category if he plays 90 percent of the 2020 regular season, and gets a total of $3.75 million if New England makes the playoffs.
If Newton were to miss two games this season he would not be eligible to earn that $2.25 million. However, due to the Patriots' game against Denver being pushed to next Sunday, that gives Newton ample time to recover, test negative and get back on the field in time for the Week 6 bout.
Money aside, the Patriots coaching staff is surely thrilled that they likely won't have to play a second consecutive game without their starting quarterback. It was evident against Kansas City that there is quite a gap in the level of play between Newton and New England's reserve options (ie Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham), so getting Newton back into the lineup is something New England wants as soon as possible.
On the other side of the football, an extra week means more opportunities to get Stephon Gilmore, who also tested positive this past Tuesday, back on the field, as well as defensive tackle Byron Cowart, who tested positive over the weekend. Getting all three players healthy and ready to play against a struggling Denver team, along with having no more positive tests in the building, would be the best case scenario for a team that looked like they were on the cusp of an COVID-19 outbreak last week.
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