Cam Newton is headed back to Carolina, and for more than you might expect. He’ll make $4.5 million guaranteed for the remaining half season, with another $5.5 million available in incentives.
The Panthers, it is clear, aren’t giving up on the season. They’re 4-5, but their making every effort to win their way into the postseason. In the not-too-distant past they swung trades for cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and C.J. Henderson.
They’ve been very aggressive with quarterbacks. They signed Teddy Bridgewater, and he’s counting $17 million against their cap this year. They tried to trade for Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson. They traded for Sam Darnold and picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract (meaning they’re locked into paying him almost $19 million next year).
Now Newton. I like the move in that I think there’s value in winning games – trying to win that 7th playoff spot in the NFC. And this move allows everyone to know whether Newton has any ability to be a starting quarterback on opening day in 2022. He was generally disappointing in his year with the Patriots, but he didn’t sign with them until July, contracted COVID at one point, and was perhaps not comfortable in their offense. I remember a couple of games last year where they opened things up and he was flinging it around pretty effectively – specifically, games with over 360 passing yards at Seattle and Houston.\
I think we’ve seen enough of Darnold to conclude that he’s not a guy they want as their starter heading into 2022. He’s out for a month with a shoulder injury, but I don’t think we need to see him in the lineup again. Nor do I want to see P.J. Walker. I am more intrigued by what a combination of Newton and offensive coordinator Joe Brady might look like.
But I think we can all agree it’s a shot in the dark. Newton for most of the last few years has looked cooked, with too many wildly off-target throws. With the Patriots last year, he averaged only 177 passing yards in his 15 starts, and with only 8 TDs.
In the last 10 years, only 24 quarterbacks have started double-digit games and averaged less than a touchdown pass per game. Of the guys in that group, Newton cam closest to not even averaging a half a touchdown per game (he had thrown only 5 in 14 games before coming up with 3 TDs in a Week 17 over the Jets).
Newton went 15-1 as a starter in 2015, helping Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance. Since that time, he’s finished with a losing record in four of five seasons (6-8, 11-5, 6-8, 0-2, 7-8).
| PEA-SHOOTER QUARTERBACKS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Yards | TD | Int |
| 2011 | Sam Bradford, St.L. | 10 | 216 | 6 | 6 |
| 2011 | Blaine Gabbert, Jac. | 14 | 154 | 12 | 11 |
| 2012 | Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 16 | 206 | 12 | 13 |
| 2012 | Mark Sanchez, NYJ | 15 | 192 | 13 | 18 |
| 2012 | Blaine Gabbert, Jac. | 10 | 166 | 9 | 6 |
| 2012 | Jake Locker, Ten. | 11 | 198 | 10 | 11 |
| 2012 | Brandon Weeden, Clev. | 15 | 226 | 14 | 17 |
| 2013 | Geno Smith, NYJ | 16 | 190 | 12 | 21 |
| 2013 | Chad Henne, Jac. | 13 | 240 | 12 | 14 |
| 2014 | Blake Bortles, Jac. | 13 | 207 | 9 | 15 |
| 2014 | Brian Hoyer, Clev. | 13 | 246 | 11 | 12 |
| 2015 | Nick Foles, St.L. | 11 | 187 | 7 | 10 |
| 2015 | Teddy Bridgewater, Min. | 16 | 202 | 14 | 9 |
| 2017 | Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 12 | 183 | 7 | 7 |
| 2017 | DeShone Kizer, Clev. | 15 | 193 | 11 | 22 |
| 2017 | Jacoby Brissett, Ind. | 15 | 203 | 13 | 7 |
| 2017 | Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 15 | 215 | 13 | 15 |
| 2017 | Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 14 | 189 | 13 | 4 |
| 2018 | Josh Rosen, Ariz. | 13 | 172 | 11 | 13 |
| 2018 | Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 13 | 187 | 11 | 8 |
| 2018 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 11 | 182 | 10 | 12 |
| 2020 | Cam Newton, N.E. | 15 | 177 | 8 | 10 |
| 2020 | Sam Darnold, NYJ | 12 | 184 | 9 | 11 |
| 2020 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 14 | 210 | 11 | 10 |
—Ian Allan