For everything that Cam Newton did for Auburn football in his time with the Tigers, most certainly including but not limited to winning the 2010 National Championship, Fly War Eagle will forever be a fan of the former Heisman winner wherever he goes.
That’s why it stung to see Newton struggle to strikingly in his one-year stint with the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick’s Pats were a postseason fixture for 11 straight seasons with Tom Brady at the helm, but with Newton beating out fellow Auburn football alum Jared Stidham for the starting quarterback role, their streak was snapped after a 7-9 campaign.
To make matters worse, Tom Brady moved from New England to win a seventh championship (along with Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That means that either Brady was the reason the Patriots were a dynasty, or Newton failed miserably in a position he was set up for success in.
That could be a harsh take considering all of the opt-outs New England had to deal with, but no matter the case, Newton’s time in the AFC East was not a fruitful one.
That said, he can turn things around if he heads to the NFC East…aka a division that just sent a 7-9 team to the postseason.
Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash has recently linked Newton to the Washington Football Team for a reunion with his long-time head coach with the Carolina Panthers:
"The interest for Newton isn’t likely to be strong after how his one-year “prove-it” deal went with New England in 2020. He brought value to the run game in short-yardage situations and in the red zone, but the downfield passing was wildly inconsistent. Newton completed four or fewer passes on throws of 10-plus yards downfield in 11 of his 15 starts in 2020 and completed only 14 deep passes over 20 yards downfield on the year. Overall, the accuracy was poor from Newton, as he ranked just 28th in percentage of accurate passes thrown beyond the line of scrimmage.Washington is in the veteran quarterback market this offseason and Football Team head coach Ron Rivera, who also coached Newton in Carolina, could reunite with the 2015 MVP and give him a shot to compete with Taylor Heinicke."
Newton would be a good fit in Washington, where he’d face several teams with inexperienced quarterbacks in New York (Daniel Jones) and Philadelphia (Jalen Hurts) and the Dallas Cowboys aka one of the most meme-able teams in professional sports…and not in a good way.