The Carolina Panthers released Cam Newton on Tuesday, and the former MVP’s career is officially in limbo. But it doesn’t have to be.
While the future is unknown, there are a couple of landing spots – one in particular – that would make sense for Newton.
“If Cam could draw it up, I think Cam would go somewhere where there is a starting spot that awaits him, and I think the only two places that would really make sense are New England and Los Angeles,” Charlotte’s WFNZ midday host Nick Wilson told JRSportBrief. “And I’m going to be honest with you: People keep throwing up the New England thing because Bill [Belichick] has gone out of his way to compliment Cam Newton and the skillset of Cam Newton and how dangerous of a player Cam Newton is. I don’t know that New England makes sense for Cam.”
Nobody wants to be the guy after The Guy. In New England, Newton would be exactly that.
“One, he would have to go into a situation where he would be expected to fulfill and replace Tom Brady – and in a situation with a guy in Bill Belichick who’s not known for his loyalty,” Wilson said. “I’m not talking out of school here, but for a guy who just allowed, unemotionally, his quarterback of 20 years to walk away.”
Also, Newton and Brady are, well, different – in playing style, yes, but also in personality.
“I don’t know [if] Boston is ready for Cam Newton,” Wilson said. “There’s obviously a very complicated history with Boston and the way they’ve treated superstar athletes – and those superstar athletes haven’t been the quarterback of their most popular team. So, to me, I look at Los Angeles.”
The Chargers’ starting quarterback, as of now, is Tyrod Taylor, who turns 31 in August. Taylor had a couple of productive seasons in Buffalo but was benched for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. He spent last season backing up Philip Rivers.
“I love Tyrod,” Wilson said. “I’m team Tyrod. I was Team Tank for Tyrod when I worked in Cleveland. But he’s a backup quarterback at this point in his career. If [Newton] fails in Los Angeles, it’s not really going to be that noteworthy because the Los Angeles Chargers have been failing in Los Angeles. But if he succeeds, then he just turned around a franchise that was in the midst of really needing a renewal. They do have talent there, and if he succeeds, he’s going to make the Chargers relevant in a way that almost no other quarterback this offseason could have. I think Los Angeles is a win-win-win for Cam. I think it’s a low-risk proposition, which doesn’t happen often in the NFL.”