The New England Patriots suffered through their worst season in 20 years, with their quarterback play being shaky at best. Cam Newton came in and replaced the legendary Tom Brady. Newton showed he wasn’t the long-term answer as the team went 7-9. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham struggled in his limited action. Quarterback is a desperate need in New England and the Pats are linked to three big-named ones.

The Patriots can’t put all the blame on Cam Newton

Cam Newton certainly had some big shoes to fill. Tom Brady bolted for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with his six Super Bowl rings, leaving behind a woeful offense. When veteran wide receiver Julian Edelman was injured, their receiving corps was hardly effective. Tight ends were non-existent. Newton had very little to work with in the passing game and it showed.

Newton finished the season with eight touchdown passes in the 15 games he started. Three of them came in the meaningless final game of the season. He was intercepted 10 times. Newton did most of his damage with his legs as he rushed for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Newton missed one game after testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) ahead of the Week 4 meeting at the Kansas City Chiefs. The New England Patriots lost to the Chiefs, triggering a string of four straight losses. Newton, who was the NFL MVP in 2015, threw for 2,657 yards and completed 65.8% of his passes this season.

What’s next for the New England Patriots?

Not since the 2000 season have the New England Patriots had a losing season – until this year. Head coach Bill Belichick’s crew went 7-9 and it was the first time they were sub-.500 since Belichick’s first year with the team in 2000. That team went 5-11.

What’s next for the Patriots? Cam Newton didn’t appear to be the answer and it would be surprising if he returned to New England for the 2021 season. Jarrett Stidham didn’t see a whole lot of action. When Stidham did play, he wasn’t wowing many.

The Patriots are likely to look to the draft for help at quarterback. They are in much better shape with the salary cap in 2021 than they were this season so bringing in a veteran, either as a bridge or as the long-term solution, could also be a possibility.

The Pats have been linked to three big-named quarterbacks

According to WEEI in Boston, the New England Patriots have been linked to three big-time quarterbacks. On The Greg Hill Show on Thursday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio was asked who he thought the Patriots quarterback would be next year. “I think they’re going to end up with Jimmy Garoppolo,” Florio said. He went on to say he did have some concerns regarding Jimmy G’s durability, but Florio thinks Garoppolo will make a return to New England next year.

Rodney Harrison and Peter King believe if the Detroit Lions are willing to trade Matthew Stafford, the Patriots would be a great fit. WEEI said that would also be the case if the Houston Texans decided they wanted to deal Deshaun Watson. The Patriots would certainly have an interest and they are very familiar with the man who would be making the deal. Nick Caserio just left the Pats to become the GM of the Texans.

No matter what happens, the Patriots need to find an answer at quarterback. Any one of these three names should solve that problem.