It was a move that many saw coming for the Carolina Panthers. The 2015 NFL MVP, and 2011 first-round pick, quarterback Cam Newton, was released on Tuesday by the team after a few years of declining health, leading to declining play.
With that news came the connections. Where would Newton end up? There’s some QB needy teams still out there, but with the madness of free agency last week, as well as the upcoming NFL Draft, who would want to take a chance with Newton? Could teams such as the Patriots or Chargers?
Those are just a few of the places rumored to be Newton’s next destination, but Buffalo is surprisingly amongst those teams.
Surprising, because of the Josh Allen experiment. But also unsurprising, because Carolina has essentially been a feeder program for the Bills since the arrival of head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane.
Here are five reasons why the Bills should avoid adding Newton:
Newton isn’t ready to be a backup
Newton isn’t going to sign just anywhere. He wants to play. He wants to be a QB1 somewhere and prove the Carolina Panthers franchise, that he gave blood, sweat, a shoulder and foot for, wrong.
He wants to make another run, whether we believe in him or not. Well, quite frankly, Buffalo isn’t going to be that place.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, this organization and a good majority of it’s fan base are firmly behind it’s first round draft pick from 2018, Josh Allen. While there most certainly has been some growing pains with Allen behind center, this front office is ready to throw it all away, unless the Bills have a meltdown and find themselves on the “outside looking in” of the playoff picture by the middle of the season.
While Newton and Allen have a similar playing ability, and if Newton were up for it, he could serve as a tremendous mentor for a young QB who hasn’t hit his ceiling just yet. That’s not Newton’s “modus operandi” at 30 years old.
Cam Newton's biggest game for the Carolina Panthers was a Super Bowl in which he played very well and became heavily criticized for.
When you revisit the game, the drops that were ignored at the time are so egregious. pic.twitter.com/iC4AzmGIe4
— Cian (@Cianaf) March 24, 2020