It was certainly a surprise late last month that the New England Patriots released former NFL MVP Cam Newton. For pretty much the entire offseason and summer, New England’s brass had been propping up Newton as its starting quarterback over rookie Mac Jones.
Now, with New England a week away from opening up its regular-season schedule against the Miami Dolphins, Newton remains unemployed. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there are two reasons for this.
“As one source with extensive experience evaluating NFL personnel explained it, the current issue with Cam is his history of injuries and a belief that he’s not throwing the ball very well,” Florio reported.
Newton, 32, just has not been the same player since missing all but two games of his final season with the Carolina Panthers back in 2019. The former No. 1 pick has dealt with both a Lisfranc injury in the foot and a shoulder injury, the latter of which could be affecting him when he throws the ball.
Will any team take a chance on Cam Newton?
That’s the million-dollar question right now. Newton will have to settle for a backup job at this stage in the summer. Even then, there has to be some concern about bringing him into the locker room.
Immediately ahead of his release from New England, Newton violated NFL COVID-19 protocols. It led to frustration on the part of the Patriots.
As an unvaccinated free agent, there are protocols Newton would have to go through in order for a team to sign him. That doesn’t even take into account the risk that said team would be taking by signing someone who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, especially considering NFL protocols on the matter.
Simply put, Newton might no longer be worth it. Remember, he threw a mere eight touchdown passes against 10 interceptions in 15 starts for the Patriots last season. Add in issues relating to regression throwing the ball and injuries, and there’s no real reason to believe that he’ll be signed any time soon.
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