The wait continues for Cam Newton.
And it probably will for a while.
The quarterback remains a free agent after getting cut this offseason by the Carolina Panthers, the only team he’s played for since breaking into the NFL.
Newton is a former MVP and very well might still be able to compete at a high level. But injuries have marred his last few seasons, and teams clearly seem skeptical of even taking a flier on him.
In a piece on the biggest NFL offseason winners and losers, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell named Newton as one of the losers, then went on to name the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers as the QB’s most logical landing spots.
“(Ryan) Tannehill’s hold on the (Titans’) starting job isn’t going anywhere at that price tag, but the former Dolphins starter missed 24 games over his final four years in Miami,” Barnwell wrote. “There’s a reasonable chance he misses time this year, and the Titans currently have seventh-round picks Cole McDonald and Logan Woodside behind their starter. …
“The ideal job for Newton would be in Pittsburgh. The Steelers should get Ben Roethlisberger back after he missed 14 games in 2019 with an elbow injury, but the longtime starter is 38 and has missed 38 games over his 16-year career. Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges were replacement-level quarterbacks last season, and Newton could viably make his case to serve as Roethlisberger’s long-term replacement in Pittsburgh if he plays well in a couple of spot starts.”
It seems the likeliest scenario at this point is Newton waits things out until someone gets hurt either in training camp or in the regular season. But if he elects not to take that approach, there’s plenty of logic behind the Titans and Steelers theories.
