NFL Notebook, Week 6: Cam Newton’s future, fun 49ers, awards and more

Cam’s Kryptonite?

Another player who’s had his name attached to trade rumors: Cam Newton. How did the 30-year old, former first-overall-pick, former-MVP suddenly find himself without job security? He has an undrafted 23-year old to thank for that.

Kyle Allen hasn’t necessarily been lighting up the NFL, but he has been a surprising improvement over Cam Newton. Since Newton went down with another injury in Week Three, Allen has not tossed a single interception while leading Carolina to four straight victories. In his past four games (all of which were losses), Newton has thrown no touchdowns and three picks.

First off, that’s a fantastically heroic picture of Allen. Second, to put Allen’s efficiency into a larger perspective, the only player to throw for at least two touchdowns and no interception is MVP frontrunner, Russell Wilson.

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That rings especially true for coach Ron Rivera when Newton returns in Week Eight. At the rate Allen is playing, I just can’t imagine Rivera would feel good about benching him for Newton. Allen might not have the “wow factor” that a younger Newton had, but Allen is getting the job done.

If he were to become available, I can see the following teams gauging interest in Newton: Bengals, Titans, Broncos, Redskins and Buccaneers.

We just have to wait and see how things play out in Carolina.