NFL Free Agency 2020: Top 10 offensive players remaining

1. Cam Newton, QB

At first, it looked like Cam Newton would wait to hear his name called in free agency. The former league MVP did miss 14 games last season, and questions about his health abound. With the pandemic setting in, fans and analysts understood teams might not feel confident in their ability to evaluate Newton. However, the veteran’s free agency is starting to become ridiculous.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers somehow got physicals for both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, an injury-prone former superstar, during the height of the pandemic. Todd Gurley recently passed his physical with the Atlanta Falcons, making his deal with the team official. Yet, people still claim Newton is unsigned because teams can’t meet with or evaluate him. That’s not the situation anymore.

During the offseason, several teams acquired quarterbacks that are by far inferior to Newton. The Chicago Bears traded for Nick Foles to presumably nudge the eternally mediocre Mitchell Trubisky along. The New York Jets signed Joe Flacco, who won’t even be cleared for contact until sometime in September, to backup the struggling Sam Darnold. Brian Hoyer, Case Keenum and Marcus Mariota also all received backup jobs.

Perhaps teams view Newton as a player not capable of accepting a backup position. Even if that’s the case, the Auburn product could still start for at least four or five teams in 2020. If Newton is open to taking a backup role, he could almost sign anywhere, depending on the available cap space.

Newton is one of the few quarterbacks with multiple years of starting experience still available on the market. Blake Bortles and soon-to-be 41-year-old Josh McCown also possess several years’ worth of starting experience, but Newton is the more appealing product. With the way things are going, the 2015 league MVP could wait until the opening weeks of the 2020 season before signing with a new team.