If the 31-year-old plays well, New England can still hit him with the franchise tag in 2021, per Jason La Canfora. There’s no language in Newton’s deal that says the Patriots can’t tag him.
I'm told that Cam Newton's one-year deal with the Patriots does not include a provision preventing New England from applying a 2021 franchise tag on the former MVP QB. Wow
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) June 30, 2020
With Newton on an incentive-laden one-year deal, this is a surprising revelation.
After getting shut out of free agency in 2020, the thinking was that Newton would ink a one-year deal, try to light it up, and then test the free agent market again next offseason when it had reset.