NFL Free Agents 2020: Latest Outlook on Cam Newton, Jameis Winston and Patriots

For the first time in two decades, the New England Patriots have a quarterback conundrum.

Tom Brady has headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving Bill Belichick and the Patriots in a challenging spot at the position. However, their troubles aren't entirely a result of Brady's departure.

"With 67 players at the moment, the Patriots have 23 spots to fill on their 90-man roster," ESPN's Mike Reiss noted. "But with about $26 million in dead charges on their salary cap and about $1 million in overall available space, the moves they can make are limited at this time."

That's not going to cut it.

New England must be creative to open up space, and Reiss shared several options. The Patriots can maneuver some room through extending Stephon Gilmore, Joe Thuney and Dont'a Hightower while also approaching high-paid players about a pay cut.

But the financial crunch also means New England, barring a surprise, isn't really a landing spot for Cam Newton or Jameis Winston.

The Pats are expected to enter the summer with Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer and Cody Kessler at quarterback. It's probably not going to change much before the 2020 season.

Considering the Cincinnati Bengals will likely draft Joe Burrow and the Miami Dolphins will target a rookie to pair with Ryan Fitzpatrick, there may no longer be a vacant starting job.

Or, maybe one.

But that hinges entirely on the Los Angeles Chargers. They have Tyrod Taylor and the sixth overall pick—with which they could consider Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon's Justin Herbert. Will the Chargers take another look at Newton, even after NFL.com's Ian Rapoport said the team is moving forward with Taylor?

Taylor, incidentally, recently posted a picture of him and Newton working out together. Taylor told Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register that he and Newton are close friends and have the same trainer, Jeff Christensen.

If the answer is no, though, Newton will be facing the similar, disappointing outlook that Winston has.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians, who pursued Brady in favor of retaining Winston, shared one scenario for the quarterback in 2020.

"Get in somewhere where he can sit, learn a system, maybe a year for an older person and take over," Arians said on Tiki and Tierney last Thursday. "Or, get in competition with a younger guy—because he is a supertalented and hard-working guy."

Among other possibilities, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers fit that description. Jacksonville traded Nick Foles to start Gardner Minshew II, but he's not a definite long-term starter. Pittsburgh has a year-by-year outlook with 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger.

Still, at this point, the connections are made based on a logical progression, not a verifiable rumor. The markets for both Newton and Winston remain key storylines to monitor moving into April.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.