Leonard Fournette says his pitch for Cam Newton is simply to make Jags better

Competition brings out the best in everyone and Leonard Fournette feels like that would be the case if the Jags signed Cam Newton.

The Jacksonville Jaguars may potentially have a franchise quarterback in Gardner Minshew II but at least one of his teammates would like to see him face the fiercest competition available. That teammate’s name is Leonard Fournette, who raised some eyebrows when he made an Instagram post that featured a picture of him and Newton with a captioning that read, “What we teaming up of what [cross emoji]”

While on ESPN’s “First Take” Thursday, Fournette explained to hosts Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim, and Max Kellerman that he certainly wasn’t overlooking his teammate Minshew. He added that Newton had Super Bowl experience and stated that he believed a little friendly competition would make the team an overall better group.

“Cam went to the Super Bowl,” Fournette said on “First Take.” “He’s a great guy. I’ve been knowing Cam for a minute now. And like I told some people that talked to me, it’s no disrespect to [Gardner Minshew]. I’m just trying to get in the best position as a team as we can [to] win.

“That’s all that was about. Just friendly competition ’cause that brings out the best in people.”

That’s certainly hard to argue with. After all, Minshew’s résumé is nowhere close to the one Newton has put together as he’s played in 124 games. He also has played in seven postseason games. Overall, Newton will enter 2020 with a 59.6% (2,371-of-3,980) completion rate, for 29,041 passing yards, 182 touchdowns, and a QBR of 86.1. While his completion percentage isn’t the best, there is no denying that he should be starting for a team in the NFL.

When we spoke with NFL insider Ian Rapoport weeks ago, he said that he had no knowledge of the Jags contacting Newton’s camp. However, for a general manager and coach on the hot seat in Dave Caldwell and Doug Marrone, prancing on a veteran with Newton’s achievements might be a smart move that could pay off in the end.