It remains to be seen where Cam Newton will continue his NFL career.
After a lackluster first season in New England, it seems unlikely Newton will re-sign with the Patriots. His underwhelming play over the course of the 2020 season seemingly also casts uncertainty over his role in 2021, as he very well could be forced to settle for backup duties.
Regardless, plenty of teams will head into the offseason in need of quarterback help, whether it be a starter or depth option. One of those teams might be the Steelers, whose current starting quarterback is past his prime and also has a concerning injury history.
The warranted concerns about Roethlisberger seem to be the biggest factor in NFL insider Dan Graziano predicting Pittsburgh will sign Newton in free agency.
“This assumes a lot of things, chief among them the fact Pittsburgh can’t bring Ben Roethlisberger back on his current contract,” Graziano wrote for ESPN.com. “If Big Ben is gone, Newton could be a low-cost, high-upside option that allows the Steelers to hand out some of the big deals in store for their younger stars and also rebuild their running game with Newton as a major part of it. If Ben does find a way to return to Pittsburgh, he’ll be 39. He never has been a great bet to stay healthy all year, and Newton offers better insurance than do the Steelers’ backups of the past couple of years.”
Newton potentially could be interested in the Steelers, too, as the supporting cast he’d inherit in Pittsburgh would be much stronger than the one he worked with in New England. Even if star wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster walks in free agency, the Steelers still will have a strong receiving corps with the likes of Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and James Washington. Pittsburgh’s group of running backs also is nothing to scoff at.
The Steelers’ next franchise quarterback probably isn’t currently on their depth chart, and given where they sit in the 2021 draft, they’re probably not finding him this spring. In turn, Newton could be an intriguing stop-gap option for Mike Tomlin’s team.
