Cam Newton has seen his prospects for playing in 2020 dwindle by the day but could the quarterback find his way back to the NFC South in a new role?
This NFL offseason has been full of quarterback changes. Whether it be long-time veterans ending up with a new team or teams drafting one, the carousel is seemingly never-ending. But while Jameis Winston ended up in New Orleans and Andy Dalton is home in Dallas, Cam Newton hasn’t been heard from in a meaningful way yet.
Drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2011, Newton came in and lit up the league. For the Panthers, he was their solution at quarterback and quickly became the face of the franchise. Winning NFL MVP in 2015, he also led the team to a 15-1 record and to an appearance in Super Bowl 50, though they lost in crushing fashion to Denver.
Then the wheels started to come off. The year after, the same success wasn’t found for Newton or the Panthers. In 2017, Newton injured his shoulder, put his foot in his mouth and made an early playoff exit. As injuries persisted over the last couple of years, that led to his exit from Carolina this offseason.
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All signs point to Cam Newton not being an NFL starting quarterback in 2020. However, he does have some options. One could be for Newton to head to Washington and battle for a starting job against Dwayne Haskins — or simply look for some familiarity with former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera.
However, one potentially strange option that could make sense would be for him to head further south — but stay in the NFC South — and join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind their shiny new toy, Tom Brady.
While Bucs fans are excited for Tompa Bay to begin, the team doesn’t have a solid backup option if Brady does go down. Ryan Griffin and Blaine Gabbert aren’t exactly at the top of the list when it comes to confidence-causing No. 2 options.
That’s where Newton would come in as he could be the Bucs’ secret weapon with the ability to provide Tampa Bay security and flexibility with Newton’s unique skill-set when healthy.
Almost all of the other teams who needed a quarterback fulfilled their need. Currently, it doesn’t seem like the New England Patriots are going to sign him as Josh McDaniel isn’t a fan, among other reasons. The same can be said about the Jacksonville Jaguars as they’re taking a chance on Gardner Minshew, so there aren’t many options for Newton.
Of the two options above, it seems more likely than Ron Rivera will end up working out a deal for Newton but seeing the quarterback on the Bucs would be awesome.
Either way, it’s frustrating to see a player like Cam Newton being looked over so severely. While he might not be as good as he was in 2015, he’s seemingly on the right track to being healthy and being a good NFL quarterback again.