Tom Brady announced on social media on March 17 that he was leaving the Patriots as a free agent.
Cam Newton was officially cut by the Panthers on March 24, although his separation from the team was evident long before that.
New England was seemingly in the market for a quarterback and Newton needed a job, and yet the Patriots didn’t officially sign the former NFL MVP until July 8.
What exactly drew the Patriots to sign Newton this summer after he’d sat on the open market for months?