Next NFL season, it's likely a former Auburn quarterback will be Tom Brady's successor in New England.

Already with Jarrett Stidham, who quarterbacked Gus Malzahn's offense from 2017-18, in their QB room, the Patriots picked up former NFL MVP and Heisman winner Cam Newton on Sunday, according to multiple reports. Newton's contract is for one year, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the deal had been in the works for some time.

Rapoport later reported the deal is "incentive-based," with Newton able to earn at most $7.5 million.

Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 after his national championship season with Gene Chizik and Auburn, was ousted from Carolina this offseason following nine seasons with the organization. The Panthers said on social media that Newton had requested a trade, which the star quarterback quickly denied, leading to a bizarre cutting of ties.

He continues to mend a foot injury suffered last season. Newton underwent surgery in December.

The 2015 NFL MVP, who turned 31 this year, had difficulty working out for and meeting with prospective teams during early COVID-19 restrictions on the league. He was easily the biggest-name quarterback left in free agency for a couple months.

"Cam Newton is one of the best football players, I think, to ever play the game," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of his former quarterback in March. "I know that he'll land on his feet. I know he's got some good years left in him."

Pats coach and GM Bill Belichick did not use a 2020 draft pick on a quarterback, leaving Stidham as the No. 1 candidate to take over as QB1 before Newton signed.

Belichick also signed 34-year-old veteran Brian Hoyer in the offseason, and picked up Michigan State's Brian Lewerke and Louisiana Tech's J'Mar Smith as undrafted free agents.

Will Newton be healthy enough to return to superstar form and easily beat out Stidham? He obviously wasn't himself in 2019, but the prior year, Newton turned in the second-best QB rating of his NFL career and his highest single-season completion percentage.

Though he threw just four passes during the 2019 season, Stidham was able to learn behind Brady for a year in practice, which Belichick has said holds immense value for Stidham's development and his future as a QB in the league.

Stidham fits the mold of what Brady brought to New England for so long. But if healthy, Newton provides a powerful, dual-threat dynamic that could help the franchise continue its AFC dominance in the post-Brady era.

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