Carolina officially released the former NFL MVP after the team was unable to generate trade interest. Newton is coming off an injury-shortened season where he only played two games. He underwent surgery on his left foot and is expected to be ready for the regular season — whenever that should happen.
While Newton initially tried to refute the Panthers’ claim of a trade demand, Newton wasn’t necessarily upset to move on from Carolina — at least on social media.
Cam Newton is on the free-agent market, but what teams are most likely to add him? We focus on the odds around each team.
[jwplayer 1kSlFBO2]
NFL veteran quarterback Cam Newton is a free-agent after the Carolina Panthers released him Tuesday. Unable to find a trading partner, the team ultimately decided to release him outright.
The Panthers recently reshuffled their quarterback deck with the free-agent signing of Teddy Bridgewater and the addition of XFL star P.J. Walker.
With Carolina in the rear-view mirror, and following a very active market of quarterbacks moving to new teams, one has to wonder: Where Newton will be playing next? The oddsmakers at BetMGM have updated their odds on just that…
Odds on Cam Newton’s next team
Odds via BetMGM, last updated March 24 at 5:45 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Chargers +300
There could be a potential marriage here if the price is right and Newton’s health (foot, shoulder) is where it needs to be and the oddsmakers have the Chargers as the most likely landing spot.
Can you really see the Chargers entering the year with Tyrod Taylor as QB1? Well, it is the Chargers… and they may look at the position early in the NFL Draft, too.
This NFL futures bet is worth a moderate-unit wager at +300 value.
Miami Dolphins +350
The Dolphins seem destined to find their quarterback of the future early in the NFL Draft. However, even if they do, a move on Newton would make sense to help bridge-the-gap better than the tandem of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen did a year ago. It wouldn’t, however, fit in with the total rebuild Miami has been working through.
New to sports betting? A $100 wager on the Dolphins being Newton’s team returns a $350 profit if Newton is on roster in Week 1. While the odds and profit are favorable, I’ll pass on a wager here as Miami stays the course on their rebuild.
Jacksonville Jaguars +350
The Jags are in rebuild mode and it makes more sense to see what magic Gardner Minshew II can pull off as QB1 for a full season rather than bring in Newton. Pass on a wager here.
New England Patriots +450
Replacing Tom Brady in New England won’t be an easy job for anyone and something tells me Newton’s style wouldn’t fit nicely into the Patriots way. While New England could use more talent at the position, signing a flashy quarterback doesn’t seem in head coach Bill Belichick’s DNA. Pass on a wager here.
Get some action on NFL futures bets at BetMGM! Think you know where Newton will play next? Bet now at BetMGM.
Washington Redskins +500
These odds should be even longer. Yes, there is the Ron Rivera connection and team owner Daniel Snyder is always a wildcard, but Washington just added former Carolina QB Kyle Allen via trade and have second-year Dwayne Haskins, a first-round pick from a year ago, on roster. Bringing in Newton would be a strange twist from their previous moves. Plus there has been speculation they may want a quarterback early in this year’s NFL Draft… Pass on a wager here.
Anderson heads to the Carolina Panthers, but did he destroy his fantasy football value with one stroke of a pen?
(Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports)
What are fantasy football owners getting out of adding former New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson now that he is a member of the Carolina Panthers after inking a two-year, $20 million deal?
The answer is summed up in a few words: Streaky playmaker.
Why do we know this? Three straight seasons of consistent year-end figures that show a trend of week-to-week ebbs and flows like few others.
Table: Robby Anderson’s career stats (2016-19)
Season
Team
G
Targ
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Att
Yds
TD
FanPts
FanPts/G
2016
NYJ
14
78
42
587
14.0
2
3
42
0
116.9
8.4
2017
NYJ
16
114
63
941
14.9
7
3
9
0
200.0
12.5
2018
NYJ
14
94
50
752
15.0
6
2
-8
0
160.4
11.5
2019
NYJ
16
96
52
779
15.0
5
1
4
0
160.3
10.0
The scoring used in these tables is non-PPR — his optimal setting for fantasy returns. The takeaway should be regardless of the system or quarterback, the core metrics of Anderson’s game do not change to any notable degree. His catch-to-touchdown ratio hasn’t varied more than two grabs in the last three years, and Anderson’s yards-per-reception average hasn’t wavered enough to speak of since he entered the league.
When looking at the yearlong results on a weekly basis, we see massive swings in production.
Table: Robby Anderson’s 2019 per-game statistics
Wk
Opp
Targ
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Att
Yds
TD
FanPts
1
BUF
7
3
23
7.7
0
0
0
0
5.3
2
CLE
6
4
81
20.3
0
0
0
0
12.1
3
at NE
5
3
11
3.7
0
0
0
0
4.1
5
at PHI
3
1
16
16
0
0
0
0
2.6
6
DAL
8
5
125
25
1
0
0
0
23.5
7
NE
8
1
10
10
0
0
0
0
2.0
8
at JAC
6
4
43
10.8
0
0
0
0
8.3
9
at MIA
4
2
33
16.5
0
0
0
0
5.3
10
NYG
3
1
11
11
0
0
0
0
2.1
11
at WAS
3
1
6
6.0
1
0
0
0
7.6
12
OAK
5
4
86
21.5
1
0
0
0
18.6
13
at CIN
10
7
101
14.4
0
0
0
0
17.1
14
MIA
11
7
117
16.7
1
1
4
0
25.1
15
at BAL
6
4
66
16.5
0
0
0
0
10.6
16
PIT
4
2
32
16
1
0
0
0
11.2
17
at BUF
7
3
18
6.0
0
0
0
0
4.8
All five scores came in different games, which is good for fantasy owners in weekly, head-to-head leagues.
Unfortunately, 80 percent of them came in a five-games span.
Since Week 12, he closed out the year strong in all but the finale, and it wasn’t for a lack of targets in that one.
Table: Robby Anderson’s 2018 per-game statistics
Wk
Opp
Targ
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Att
Yds
TD
FanPts
1
at DET
1
1
41
41
1
1
-9
0
10.2
2
MIA
5
3
27
9.0
0
0
0
0
5.7
3
at CLE
4
2
22
11
0
0
0
0
4.2
4
at JAC
6
2
18
9
0
0
0
0
3.8
5
DEN
5
3
123
41
2
0
0
0
27.3
6
IND
5
3
39
13
0
0
0
0
6.9
7
MIN
10
3
44
14.7
0
0
0
0
7.4
9
at MIA
7
4
32
8.0
0
1
1
0
7.3
12
NE
5
2
22
11
0
0
0
0
4.2
13
at TEN
7
4
48
12
0
0
0
0
8.8
14
at BUF
7
4
76
19
1
0
0
0
17.6
15
HOU
11
7
96
13.7
1
0
0
0
22.6
16
GB
13
9
140
15.6
1
0
0
0
29.0
17
at NE
8
3
24
8.0
0
0
0
0
5.4
Six touchdowns and half came in three consecutive games late in the year.
One score over the first month, and it came on a lone grab.
Struggled to exploit top-level competition most of the time.
Table: Robby Anderson’s 2017 per-game statistics
Wk
Opp
Targ
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Att
Yds
TD
FanPts
1
at BUF
8
4
22
5.5
0
0
0
0
6.2
2
at OAK
4
2
28
14.0
0
0
0
0
4.8
3
MIA
6
3
95
31.7
1
0
0
0
18.5
4
JAC
6
3
59
19.7
0
0
0
0
8.9
5
at CLE
5
2
16
8.0
0
0
0
0
3.6
6
NE
12
4
76
19
0
0
0
0
11.6
7
at MIA
5
3
35
11.7
1
0
0
0
12.5
8
ATL
6
6
104
17.3
1
1
1
0
22.5
9
BUF
5
4
48
12
1
0
0
0
14.8
10
at TB
7
4
85
21.3
1
0
0
0
18.5
12
CAR
10
6
146
24.3
2
0
0
0
32.6
13
KC
12
8
107
13.4
0
1
7
0
19.4
14
at DEN
6
3
27
9.0
0
0
0
0
5.7
15
at NO
12
5
40
8.0
0
0
0
0
9.0
16
LAC
7
5
51
10.2
0
0
0
0
10.1
17
at NE
3
1
2
2.0
0
1
1
0
1.3
Unlike the two more recent seasons, Anderson didn’t close out strong in 2017. But he also didn’t start hot, finding the end zone only once in the first six outings.
He did, however, score six times in a five-game span from Week 7-12. The Jets were on bye in Week 11.
Anderson averaged just 3.7 catches in the 10 games without a score that year.
[lawrence-related id=448889,449273]
Obviously more goes into a player’s value than his talents and past. The problem here is even if one overlooks Anderson’s demonstrable traits as a football player, he enters a lousy situation to achieve his potential from a statistical perspective.
In Carolina, he’ll catch passes from a game manager in Teddy Bridgewater and have to fight for targets in a moderate-volume passing attack with reception-hog D.J. Moore and do-all wideout Curtis Samuel. We haven’t even addressed that guy in the backfield with 107-plus catches in consecutive seasons…
Going one step further, a rookie head coach and first-time offensive coordinator shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt 99 percent of the time, and this isn’t the one that falls in that 1 percentile.
Fantasy football takeaway
Few receivers can take a football anywhere on the field and turn it into six points in the way Anderson is capable of doing, but players need more tricks in the bag than “go deep” to become a multifaceted fantasy contributor.
It is far more likely that we’ve seen his ceiling already when compared to what to expect in Carolina. We also may know his floor to be a risk-reward matchup-based, WR3/flex play. But all of that may come with a not so obvious trapdoor in Carolina’s offense, and he realistically could be facing a ceiling somewhere in that flex range if consistency is on your radar — and it needs to be.
As mentioned, his value is at its peak in non-PPR leagues. To Anderson’s credit, he appears to have cleaned up his off-the-field antics, so at least that is going for him.
The Saints might make sense as a landing spot for ex-Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, now a free agent. But fifteen other teams look better.
[jwplayer KB25GEDc-ThvAeFxT]
The New Orleans Saints lost quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in free agency to the cross-division Carolina Panthers, but there’s a (slim) chance they could end up swapping one passer for another. The Panthers followed up that move by releasing Cam Newton, longtime face of the franchise, and the oddsmakers at BetMGM have put the Saints in the running to acquire the league’s 2015 MVP.
Now, sure, technically the Saints are in last-place among Newton’s possible suitors. Their long-shot chances (+12,500) trail 15 other NFL teams, with the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Rams ahead of New Orleans in a three-way tie (+10,000). The team seen as most-likely to land Newton is the Los Angeles Chargers (at +300), with the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars narrowly behind (+350).
But why would the Saints even pursue Newton, with Drew Brees under contract and Taysom Hill set to play on a first-round restricted free agent tender? Well, both of those players could be gone after the 2020 season thanks to Brees’ contract structure and Hill’s status as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
In the shorter view, though, Hill has played at his best when the Saints have lined him up everywhere but quarterback. Adding Newton would put a buffer between Brees and Hill on the depth chart, allowing Hill to catch passes, make blocks, and continue to slam his throwing shoulder into opponents on punts and kickoffs. Expect the Saints to sign a veteran free agent at quarterback, though it probably won’t be Newton (and don’t tell Cameron Jordan that).
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Cam Newton is on his way out of Carolina. A look back at the production of the Panthers’ quarterback and other 2011 first-round picks.
Cam Newton’s time in Carolina is coming to a close. The Heisman winner from Auburn was the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. How did the rest of the first round go and how did the players perform?
32. Green Bay: Derek Sherrod
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Packers went last in the first round and chose a tackle from Mississippi State, Derek Sherrod. He made one start in four seasons — not playing at all in 2013. Grade: F
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan didn’t waste any time in trying to recruit free agent quarterback Cam Newton after the Panthers cut him.
[jwplayer UohsGWH0-ThvAeFxT]
He’s healthy and they released him😶Want a yr or 2 to make sure? Adjust throwing if needed? Need a tm with a dynamic top tier hb? Wr? Cemented & proven OFFENSIVE LINE?😏 idk how to do his text prompt style so hopefully this reaches… https://t.co/i0eTqoDJmW
Well, that escalated quickly. The Carolina Panthers released franchise quarterback Cam Newton, formally ushering in a new era led by Teddy Bridgewater and new head coach Matt Rhule. What’s maybe most surprising about the development is how long it took New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan to jump in and try to sell his team on Newton, now a free agent.
Jordan responded to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter which said that Newton recently passed a physical, with both his surgically-repaired foot and shoulder clearing inspection. However, that prompted Jordan to ask whether Newton would like to take a year or two of rest to make sure, and maybe adjust his throwing mechanics (if needed) in New Orleans.
Jordan also pointed to the strengths of the Saints roster — a “dynamic, top tier” running back in Alvin Kamara, options at wide receiver (like Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Deonte Harris), and most importantly, a “cemented and proven OFFENSIVE LINE,” which allowed far too many pressures, sacks, and knockdowns during Newton’s tenure in Carolina. It’s a compelling argument.
Of course, an issue bigger than navigating the salary cap or getting Newton to accept a backup role behind Drew Brees would be getting a message out in the quarterback’s signature Wingdings-esque Instagram font. Maybe another shipment of gifts from Jordan Winery would help convince him.
This isn’t the first big swing at the plate Jordan has taken this offseason. He’s been as active as ever in doing his part to court playmakers, connecting with since-traded Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay and suggesting former Miami Dolphins top draft pick Dion Jordan (who was handpicked by Jeff Ireland, now the Saints college scouting director) as a great scheme fit in New Orleans. That proves that Jordan is acutely aware of how close the Saints are to reaching a Super Bowl with this current roster, and he wants them to load up and do whatever they can to get over the hump.
Then again, maybe Jordan is just being wistful. He later joked that he’s been daydreaming of whether the Saints could assemble all three of the “2011 draft class Cam’s on the same black and gold squad,” meaning himself, Newton, and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (son of Saints great “Ironhead” Craig Heyward), a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. Wouldn’t that be something?
The Jets lost free agent wide receiver Robby Anderson to the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday.
Jets free agent wide receiver Robby Anderson has signed with the Carolina Panthers.
Anderson and the Panthers agreed on a two-year, $20 million deal with $12 million in guaranteed money on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. In Carolina, Anderson reunites with his former college head coach Matt Rhule.
Anderson signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 2016. He entered training camp fighting for the fifth spot on the depth chart and won the spot thanks to a strong preseason in which he led all players in receiving yards. Anderson not only earned a spot on New York’s 53-man roster, but climbed up the depth chart as the year went on and finished his rookie season with 42 receptions for 587 yards and two touchdowns.
The 2017 season was Anderson’s breakout year, as he nearly eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 63 receptions for 941 yards and seven touchdowns. His production took a hit in 2018, but Anderson still managed to lead the Jets in receiving with 50 receptions for 752 yards and six touchdowns in his first season working with Sam Darnold. Anderson’s numbers in 2019 were similar to that of the year before, as he hauled in 52 passes for 779 yards and five touchdowns.
Anderson finishes his career with the Jets with 207 receptions for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns.
With Anderson off to Carolina, Jets general manager Joe Douglas now has to find Darnold a new No. 1 receiver to throw to. Free agent options such as Nelson Agholor and Paul Richardson remain, but with a deep crop of receivers looming in the 2020 NFL draft class, there is a chance Douglas waits until late April to address the position.
According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Panthers are signing former Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson.
[jwplayer X0uVbeGa-ThvAeFxT]
Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.
According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Panthers are signing former Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson. It’s a two-year deal worth $20 million with $12 million in Year 1.
Former Jets’ WR Robby Anderson is signing a two-year, $20 million deal including $12 million in year one with the Carolina Panthers, per source.
Anderson was one of the first potential 2020 free agent targets we profiled this year. He’s a superb fit for the team given his previous experience working with Matt Rhule at Temple and the Panthers’ needs at the position.
In 62 games, Anderson has totaled 207 catches, 3,059 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. He projects as the new No. 2 wide receiver on the depth chart behind D.J. Moore. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a better receiver than Curtis Samuel, but he is a better fit with the team’s new starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
This is the fourth wide receiver the team has signed already in 2020 since free agency began. The others are Keith Kirkwood, Seth Roberts and Pharoh Cooper.
Newton has been on the trade block for a while, but the team ultimately couldn’t find a partner despite engaging in talks with the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Chargers. One major question was regarding Newton’s health. However, it seems that he’s been cleared.
According to Adam Schefter at ESPN, Newton took a physical in Atlanta yesterday coordinated between the team and his agency. He passed and both the foot and the shoulder are in good shape.
Cam Newton had a physical in Atlanta yesterday coordinated by the Panthers and his agency team, per sources. Newton passed the physical and is healthy, per source, with both his shoulder and foot “checking out well and he is hungrier than ever and eager for the next opportunity.”
Newton spent a total of nine seasons in Carolina after going No. 1 overall, playing in 125 regular season games. Cam’s record was 68-55-1 and he totaled 29,041 passing yards, 182 touchdowns, 108 interceptions and a 86.1 passer rating. As a rusher, Newton posted 4,806 yards and 58 touchdowns, the most by any quarterback in league history. Along the way, Newton made three Pro Bowl teams, earned one first-team All Pro nod and one MVP award.
Now that we know he’s healthy, Newton qualifies as an instant upgrade for several teams.
As for the Panthers, they’ll move forward with Teddy Bridgewater as their new starting QB and P.J. Walker will likely back him up.
