Did Cam Newton lose his starting job with Patriots?

Cam Newton was benched in favor of Jarrett Stidham on Sunday afternoon in Week 7.

Tom Brady is winning the divorce, as Cam Newton has struggled replacing a legend.

The New England Patriots have fallen into a 2-4 hole in the first half of the 2020 NFL season. This is not a playoff team in Foxborough, and we’re quickly realizing that. There is a reason the Carolina Panthers let Newton go after nine years of service in Charlotte. He had to ride pine in favor of Jarrett Stidham in Sunday’s home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Has he lost the starting job?

It’s a lost season for the Patriots, but Newton hasn’t lost his job just yet.

If the Patriots opt to go with Stidham or Brian Hoyer as their Week 8 starter, you can kiss New England’s decade-plus postseason streak goodbye. Stidham was never a great college quarterback like Newton was at Auburn, and we know Hoyer is a mid-level backup at this point of his career. By going with either quarterback over Newton, it signifies the Patriots are tanking.

New England has a way to go to get firmly into the Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields sweepstakes. If Bill Belichick gets his hands on either of them, it would be so unbelievably unfair to the rest of the NFL world. Fortunately for us, he’s too concerned with trying to win each game to bottom out that catastrophically. He will play Newton as long as he’s healthy and as long as they are still in it.

The 49ers have a great defense and the Patriots have limited offensive personnel. Newton may no longer have the gun for a right arm he once possessed in Carolina, but he can still move around at a high level. Stidham can run a little bit and Hoyer is more of a statue than a track star. Removing the threat of the run removes all offensive viability the Patriots have in any capacity.

Though he may lose his job here soon, Newton will remain the starting in New England for now.