A starting job almost certainly isnĆ¢ĀĀt on the table for Cam. And thatĆ¢ĀĀs just fine Ć¢ĀĀ because a backup role could serve him a world of good.
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[FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]
In todayās FOX Sports Insider: Cam Newtonās best shot to get back to where he was as a QB is to make peace with where he is ... MLB players from stars to role players reflect on Opening Day ... and seven potential wagers on seven potential playoff teams in the NFC.
It was one of the strangest and surliest post-Super Bowl press conferences ever, but there was a reason Cam Newton was so mad.
Back in February of 2016, the Carolina Panthers signal caller was the league MVP, the still-emerging alpha male of all quarterbacks, a superstar ready to explode.
The defeat to Peyton Manningās Denver Broncos at Super Bowl 50 was an upset, enough of a shock to send Newton into a funk that resulted in a string of non-answers and one-word sneers to media questions.
[STORY IMAGE 1](
The most lucid response he gave was also the most believable. When Newton said, āWeāll be back,ā there was little reason to doubt him. Despite the offensive collapse in the biggest game of all, the Panthers seemed to have all the tools to continue as one of the leagueās dominant teams, primarily because of their man under center and his athletic gifts.
Fast forward four years, and Newton looks like heās facing life as an NFL backup.
After being ushered out by the Panthers, the reality is that few teams have a need or want for an often-injured QB who continues to be seen as nursing an attitude problem.
What Newton does have, right now, is a chip on his shoulder and an urgency to prove the doubters wrong. And, certainly, to get back at Carolina. [In an Instagram post]( on Thursday, he laid his emotions bare. āThey gave up on me,ā he said.
[STORY IMAGE 2](
They did indeed. When the Panthers tried to trade him but found no takers, they cut him loose, after nine years of service. Teddy Bridgewater has been given the keys to the Carolina franchise; Newton has been put on the fast-track to nowhere. Looking at his numbers and age ā heās still just 30 ā it doesnāt really add up.
āTeams throw away mid-round draft picks on QB chances all the time,ā [FS1ās Nick Wright said on First Things First.]( āWhy there wasnāt a team in the league willing to spend one of those picks to ensure they get Cam Newton, I will never understand it. It is so illogical. It canāt be the whole league has decided at 30 years old, Cam Newton isnāt worth a mid-round flyer to see if he can go regain some of his MVP form.
āThe league still holds against Cam his bad body language, the presser after the Super Bowl, and the postgame stuff, because the rest of it makes no sense.ā
[STORY IMAGE 3]
Newton, when healthy, has proven himself at the very least a top 10 QB, throwing for more than 3,300 yards and averaging 25 touchdown passes in the four seasons before his lost 2019 campaign.
But his release comes at a bad time. Virtually every team has done their business to take care of the most vital position. Long and lucrative contracts have been handed down. Newton is an outside shot to unseat any incumbent, as heās seen as too high risk.
Yahoo Sportsā Charles Robinson spoke to an unnamed NFL talent evaluator who could only think of one location where Newton might start, the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, even that would be no certainty, given the franchiseās preference for youth, rebuilding, and the availability of Gardner Minshew.
āFor this evaluator, who played a role in a quarterback signing this offseason, this is the shape of Cam Newtonās starting market,ā Robinson wrote. āOne team. And not just any team. This one isnāt even a convenient fit.ā
[STORY IMAGE 4](
The most intriguing of all possibilities would be the New England Patriots, where perhaps only Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft know how the future of the position at Foxborough is going to pan out. However, the Patriots signed Brian Hoyer and kept Jarrett Stidham, and it would be odd to think that theyād do that then demote either to third string.
Backup possibilities abound. You could imagine Newton in Pittsburgh, Seattle, Green Bay or Kansas City, an explosive potential option for set situations on top of being available if a marquee QB went down. The extra rest might finally give him the chance to get fully healthy, and the No. 2 role could allow him to perform a rebuilding job on his image.
The Instagram post was great, but there has never been much doubt that he is a fine athlete, or that he wants to win. What comes next is a pride swallowing slide. It is not necessarily the end; in the short term, however, heās on the outside looking in.
The reality will eventually sink in. No one is going to reward him for how good he was four years ago. He needs to show what he can offer now.
[STORY IMAGE 5]
Hereās what others have said ...
Mike Tanier, Bleacher Report: āIt's likely that the Patriots are a pipe dream, the Dolphins and Jaguars are sucker's bets and the Chargers are merely the last lonely heart at the bar at closing time. If that's the case, Newton's only move may be to some team's bench. But that's not nearly as bad as it sounds for him. ... Newton could end up signing a modest one-year deal to back up Russell Wilson in Seattle, Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City or Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. He'd make sense for those Super Bowl contenders: the ultimate rifle-armed, mobile backup for rifle-armed, mobile starters.ā
Tom Sorensen, Charlotte Observer: āRemove the emotion, and Carolinaās logic is evident. If Newton canāt run, and his odometer is such that he wonāt run the way he once did, he has to evolve. Move behind the line, wait for a receiver to break free, occasionally take off and scramble, or get rid of the ball. The running threat Newton posed enhanced his passing. If he doesnāt get you this way, heāll get you that way. Can he evolve? Can he run? He has to move some. But is that exquisite movement still part of his game?ā
Dom Cosnetino, The Score: āThe eventual embrace of read-option quarterbacks was one of the defining characteristics of the NFL during the last decade. Cam Newton ā all 6-foot-5, 245 pounds of him ā was at the forefront of that revolution. His release from the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday is the price he paid for getting there the way he did. Newton played nine seasons for the Panthers, and in May he will turn 31. That's quite young in a league in which franchise quarterbacks routinely play into their late 30s and even mid 40s. But from the moment he entered the NFL, Newton played a hard-charging style that seemed to welcome punishment ā which is what he often took."
[IN OTHER WORDS]
- Today should have been Opening Day. Instead, for places like Cincinnati that are synonymous with baseball, itās just Thursday ā and things just arenāt the same, [Sports Illustratedās Tom Verducci writes.](
- At Yahoo Sports, [MLB players from superstars to role players share]( their best Opening Day memories as we all patiently wait for the green light on the season.
- The NBAās predraft process will be very different this year. [NBC Sportsā Rob Dauster breaks down]( the 12 most influential āstay or goā decisions for players weighing entering the draft.
[THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]
[THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED](
Sound on for this one: two of the greatest, including the actual GOAT, playfully talking trash and comparing rings in the 2003 All-Star Game. Itās a perfect 33 seconds of basketball bliss on this Throwback Thursday.
[VIEWER'S GUIDE]
MLB Whiparound Special: Safe at Home (FS1, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas and Kevin Burhardt talk baseball and the 2020 season, answer fan questions, and relive Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. On that note...
Classic World Series Game 7s: 2016 & 2001 (FS1, 7 p.m. ET)
Itās a World Series Game 7 doubleheader, starting with the Chicago Cubsā incredible win over the Cleveland Indians in 2016, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacksā stunning 2001 title-clinching win vs. the New York Yankees.
Free Fight Video: Conor McGregorās UFC Debut (UFC YouTube)
Like most sports, UFC remains in hiatus at the moment. To help fill the time, the promotion is sharing a number of free fight videos, the latest of which is [McGregorās first-round KO debut]( in the Octagon.
Joe Buck Narrates Your Life, Day 2 (FOXSports.com and FOX Sports social platforms)
Buck is back! And heās calling play-by-play on even more of your fan submitted videos. [Watch all of the highlights here]( and check out the number of wonderful causes being championed by the fans!
[BET OF THE DAY]
[BET OF THE DAY](
Odds provided by [FOX Bet](
NFC teams to make the playoffs
San Francisco 49ers: -500
New Orleans Saints: -700
Green Bay Packers: -300
Philadelphia Eagles: -200
Seattle Seahawks: -175
Detroit Lions: +250
Arizona Cardinals: +200
One of the beautiful things about the NFLās expanded postseason field is the ability to wager on one more team in each conference to make the playoffs. While we admit itās a little early, what with the draft still to come and everything, [our Jason McIntyre gave his seven NFC postseason picks]( this week ā and FOX Bet has the prices on each of those squads (along with every other team in the league). For our money, Arizona with DeAndre Hopkins in the fold is particularly tempting.
[WHAT THEY SAID]
"As a football team, we donāt have any backups. We donāt consider anybody a backup."
ā DeAngelo Williams
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Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media
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