Cam Newton is a still a free agent and teams could probably sign him for a one year deal worth a few million dollars. Imagine saying this a few years back after his dominant season when he won MVP and lead his team to the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, Newton has been subject of many injuries since 2008 including: Torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, back vertebral fracture, chest rib fracture, ankle ligament tear, and two ankle sprains.
Cam Newton has been inconsistent in his 9 year career posting the following statistics:
As previously stated, he does have injury history, but he has started at least 14 games in 8 of his 9 years in the league. I believe he has the ability to start on a team in the NFL this year. There are many young quarterbacks that have not proven anything in the league on a 16 game basis including Cam’s replacement in Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater.
So, where is a good fit for Cam? Many teams have addressed there needs in free agency or in the draft already. The most questionable starting quarterbacks in the NFL headed into the 2020 NFL season due to youth and injury include: Drew Lock of the Broncos, Gardner Minshew of the Jaguars, Dwayne Haskins of the Redskins, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers, Jared Stidham of the Patriots and a few others. Cam hasn’t been shy on social media lately posting workout videos and signs of life in that big arm. Here are a few clips from his Instagram:
Here are my top 5 landing spots for Newton.
(This is based purely on the fact that I believe every team is confident in there starting quarterback. As of this moment, I believe Cam would have to be a backup this season.)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars:
I have heard many people say Newton should sign with the Jaguars. You really think Cam wants to play here? They have no chance of doing any winning this year and his stock will plummet on a bad team. He needs to prove himself to get a contract like Bridgewater or Foles just signed. Why hinder any possibility of that in Jacksonville? I don’t think he is this desperate to play football. Next.
4. Ravens:
This is my favorite destination for Newton. This is a team that has the talent to win a super bowl this year and has a fragile quarterback. Jackson likes to run which leads to a bigger chance of injury. This is an offense that could compliment Newton perfectly as well. He has a really good run game in Ingram and Dobbins behind a good offensive line. He also has a great tight end (Mark Andrews) which he is used to use in Greg Olsen, and has speed at receiver with Marquise Brown. This is a team where he could succeed and even if Jackson doesn’t get hurt, he could mentor Lamar and show he is a team player. I believe if Jackson does get hurt this is his best chance to succeed.
3. Steelers-
The Steelers are confident that Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and ready to go, come week one. The problem is he is 38 and coming off a shoulder surgery. The Steelers went 8-8 without him under Mason Rudolph and Delvin Hodges, two players incapable of winning in the playoffs if they get there. I don’t see this happening because of the lack of cap space and the threat of Ben’s job may drive Roethlisberger to be unhappy with management. If Ben is on board and Newton is willing to work with him, I think this is a slam-dunk sign. The Steelers have a great defense, young weapons and a running game that could be lethal with Cam and James Conner.
2. Patriots
I will say this is a very intriguing option, but one I do not believe will happen. The patriots have little to no cap space and seem confident in Stidham. If they free up cap space I could see it happening but if I am Cam Newton I think the best option is to sit out until a starter goes down…
1. Nowhere (For Now)-
Hold Out until a starting spot arises for a good organization. Sorry for the boring number 1 pick, but this needs to be what Cam is thinking. Why sign with the Jaguars who are going to win no more than 5 games this year while management continues to trade away there top talent? Why sign with ANYONE RIGHT NOW? Think about the situations teams turn to when there starting quarterbacks go down.
I’m going to list some injuries that happened to quarterbacks in previous years. Let’s start with the Raiders when Derek Carr went down. They were in a wildcard game and had to turn to Matt Mcgloin. Next, Ben Roethlisberger has went down numerous times. His backups include: Charlie Batch, Mason Rudolph, Delvin Hodges and more. Deshaun Watson went down and they turned to Brian Hoyer or was it Ryan Mallet? Nick Foles went down early last year and Minshew Mania was born. Last year Matt Moore came in for Mahomes and did decent but I am sure they would have snagged Newton if he was available. I could go on and on.
The point is, lets say Cam goes to the Patriots and Stidham beats him out and plays well enough to keep his job. Now what does Cam do? Watch other quarterbacks go down while he is stuck in New England? Being a free agent is the best situation he can be in right now. My advice to Newton: stay put until a starter goes down in a good organization. He is playing for a long term deal. Your stock only goes up in a situation where your playing well, not getting injured and winning.
Tom Doyle Blog 