There’s little doubt that when healthy, newly-minted New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton is one of the most explosive players in the NFL. The problem is, he hasn’t had a clean bill of health recently. Over the past couple of years, his talent has been marred by injuries.
Newton’s first major injury was on August 22, 2014. He suffered a fractured rib in a preseason game, causing him to miss the first game of the regular season. At the tail end of the 2014 season, he fractured his lower back in a car accident.
He did have a clean bill of health throughout the 2015 season — the best season of his career to date. He went on to win the NFL MVP Award, the Offensive Player of the Year Award and a First-Team All-Pro nod.
Newton suffered ligament and cartilage damage in the NFC divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints in January 2018. He avoided surgery during that time period, playing through the injury up until the final two weeks of 2018 season until Carolina shut him down.
Most recently suffered a left foot injury during Carolina’s third preseason game against the Patriots last summer. Officially determined as a Pedal Lisfranc Sprain, Carolina would shut him down for the remainder of the 2019 season.
All told, Newton has suffered some form of injury four times in the past four seasons alone. In particular, the ligaments and cartilage damage as well as the Pedal Lisfranc Sprain have made him lose some of his explosiveness.
The fact that Newton hasn’t had an injury-free season since 2015 speaks to how much his body has taken over the years. With a new offensive line in New England, things may work out better for him in 2020. Just last year alone, the Carolina Panther’s offensive line allowed quarterback Kyle Allen to be sacked 46 times — the sixth-most in the NFL.
As long as Newton’s body can hold up, he can be an impact player for the Patriots. It’ll be interesting to see whether New England is able to unleash the Newton of old, or if the former Auburn star will be hampered by his most recent injuries.
[lawrence-related id=90835]