As we start the month of May, former Carolina Panthers quarterback has yet to be signed to a team for the 2020-2021 NFL season. The Panthers cut Newton back on March 24th, meaning he has now been a free agent for almost forty days. As a former MVP, this must be very shocking to see someone like Jameis Winston sign a deal before him. I know he will likely be a backup, but still. Newton will be 31 years old at the start of next season. Below are a few teams that would be good landing spots for Cam Newton.
Three Ideal Landing Spots For Cam Newton
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are sort of the wild card here in this whole mix. The current plan is to have second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew start week one. On the other hand, not many people are too confident that he can lead this team to the playoffs. The team finished in fourth place in the AFC South last year with a 6-10 record. This doesn’t seem like the inevitable landing spot for Newton.
However, Jags running back Leonard Fournette went on ESPN a couple of weeks ago lobbying his front office to acquire Newton. Fournette meant no disrespect towards Gardner Minshew, stating that “Cam went to the Super Bowl.” He also added that he wants “to get in the best position as a team so that we can win.” One can assume most football fans would agree with Fournette that they’d rather have a former MVP at quarterback rather than Gardner Minshew.
2. New England Patriots
This option comes as no surprise with Tom Brady ending his 20-year run with the New England Patriots and moving south to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There are currently three quarterbacks on the Patriots’ roster. None of them are expected to be anywhere near as dominant as Brady was. The three quarterbacks are projected-starter Jarrett Stidham, veteran Brian Hoyer, and newly-signed undrafted rookie, Brian Lewerke.
Although the Patriots don’t seem to be interested in Cam Newton whatsoever, they could really use a guy like him. Newton has great experience with playing in Super Bowl 50 and would ease the pain after losing a Hall of Fame quarterback. If the Patriots don’t decide to sign Newton, they could be contenders to have a “tank season” to land a good pick and have a chance at Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is expected to forego his senior year and enter the NFL Draft after his junior season which will be in 2020-2021.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
I think this is a spot for Cam Newton not many people are talking about as a potential fit. I think I would fall in love with this pairing. Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expecting to have long-time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back at the helm. However, nobody knows exactly how healthy and effective he will be when he returns. I get it, you can say the same thing about Cam and his injuries. My counter-argument is that “Big Ben” is 38 years-old and Cam will be just 31 at the start of the season. The Steelers had a top-7 defense last year with two different below average quarterbacks. Those two were Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. Both will likely be journeymen throughout their NFL careers. Add a former MVP at QB to that Steelers squad, I strongly believe they make the playoffs and possibly make some noise in the postseason.
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