Anyone who thinks this is an extreme move, or a money move, has a young Cam Newton in mind. I like the guy and think he did a decent job for NE last season, but he's no dynamo anymore. And you might point to his 12 rushing TDs as proof that he still has it, but he only threw for 8 TDs. Sure, 20 TDs total by a QB is OK (far from great!), but what they had was a guy who had something left in his legs but really couldn't throw well - almost like playing without a QB. Mac Jones is better and the Patriots can build a pass-first offense around him; something that could no longer be done with Newton. And on the money front, Cam was playing for very little money by NFL QB standards: he was playing for a chance to reclaim his old glory and prestige ... and a chance at one more big contract. The Pats cut him because they can build the team they want around Jones, not Newton, and having a huge personality like that on the sidelines behind a rookie also probably wouldn't be a positive.

Cam was available two years ago and had no takers until the Patriots picked him up for next to nothing late in the process. He is not a sought after commodity anymore.

And yes, I also think the lack of a vaccination hurt him. I bet it is the quiet third or fourth criteria on many head coaches' mental list when making final cuts. Teams with a lot of unvaccinated players will lose some games this season because of covid issues. Belichick weighs everything.