Now that the dust has settled on Cam Newton's departure from the New England Patriots, two major questions remain: why and what happens next for the 2015 NFL MVP.

As for the former question, one NFL personnel evaluator put it succinctly in a conversation with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN: "The tape doesn't lie. Cam just wasn't good."

The Patriots released Newton on Tuesday as a part of final roster cuts, handing the starting quarterback job to first-round pick Mac Jones. The Alabama product significantly outperformed Newton all preseason and took advantage of his time with the first team when Newton was forced to miss time because of a misunderstanding of COVID-19 protocols.

As for Newton's next step, that is a far murkier question. Newton hasn't been a backup since he was sitting behind Tim Tebow at the University of Florida over a decade ago. 

The number of teams that want Newton as a backup may also be limited, due in part to his unique skill set and high profile. An executive mentioned the Minnesota Vikings as a possibility to Fowler, given third-round pick Kellen Mond's struggles in the preseason.

That said, there isn't a great one-to-one fit in the playbook the Vikings would use for Newton versus starter Kirk Cousins. Dallas is another potential fit with Cooper Rush serving as its backup behind a banged-up Dak Prescott, but owner Jerry Jones has been open about his desire for Cowboys players to be vaccinated and, based on the fact Newton was required to miss time after missing a daily test at the Patriots facility earlier in the preseason, he seems to be unvaccinated.

Some teams may also want to avoid signing Newton or any unvaccinated player who is not paramount to their success because of restrictive NFL rules on unvaccinated players. Teams that have outbreaks among unvaccinated players are subject to forfeiting games, and teams that do not have 85 percent of their locker room vaccinated also have greater restrictions on how they can congregate.