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Did the Patriots use Cam Newton signing to deflect film crew punishment news?

Patriots quarterback Cam Newton
Sep 8, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) stands on the sidelines during a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Maybe the New England Patriots have been coveting Cam Newton for a while. Perhaps they were waiting for just the right time to announce his signing. Maybe it had everything to do with the NFL finally announcing punishment for the film crew incident last year in Cincinnati.

At the very least, it was highly convenient to time the Cam Newton signing just before the NFL announced discipline for another Patriots’ scandal. Two prominent figures in the NFL community highlighted that very fact.

NFL came down hard once again as Patriots busted for spying

Last December, the Patriots were busted videotaping the Bengals sideline during a game in Cincinnati. There was a three-person film crew up in the press box filming for Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his “Do Your Job” series.

After one quarter of play, the film crew was approached about the video that was being taken. It was determined that “inappropriate video” had been captured of Cincinnati’s sidelines. This included hand signals from Cincinnati’s coaching staff to players on the field.

On Sunday evening, the NFL announced discipline for this infraction — another in a growing line of them since Bill Belichick took over the New England franchise back in 2000. The Patriots were docked a third-round pick in 2021, fined $1.1 million and ordered to keep television crews away from games during the 2020 NFL season.

On almost any other day, this would have been the biggest story in sports. Instead, hardly anyone’s talking about the Patriots once again being disciplined by the NFL for breaking the rules.

Patriots could have signed Cam Newton almost any time recently

The Patriots have spun a smokescreen since Tom Brady left New England: Jarrett Stidham is our guy. By signing Newton, they are letting their actions speak louder than words.

Newton has been training hard and clearly is fully healthy based on the training videos he has shared on social media.

He’s been available since being released by Carolina in March, and it’s been crystal clear for a while that the Patriots were the best team for him to play for in 2020.

The bottom line is that Newton has been at the forefront of the conversation surrounding the Patriots for months.

Were they just waiting for the most opportune moment to announce he was coming on board? Or was this just a very convenient coincidence? You be the judge.

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