CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton got fired by the New England Patriots Tuesday.
In the meantime, the Carolina Panthers also released a quarterback — third-stringer Will Grier.
That made a lot of Carolina fans suddenly wonder: Should the Panthers hire Newton back as a backup? After all, he was the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player, he was their most successful quarterback ever, he would now be pretty inexpensive and the team suddenly has only two QBs on the roster.
In a word:
No.
Newton made hundreds of joyful memories during his nine years in Charlotte from 2011-19. He directed the team to the Super Bowl once, scared defensive coordinators everywhere and maintained a special connection with kids through his charities, his football giveaways and his exuberance.
When it was good here, it was wonderful. Newton was a self-professed and absolutely genuine Superman, again and again. No one ever lit up Bank of America Stadium as consistently.
But let’s not forget that Newton is an alpha male, with a personality that is hard-wired to be a starter and a dominant locker room presence that couldn’t, and shouldn’t be, tamped down.
And let’s not forget that his final year with the Panthers, in 2019, Newton only played in two games out of a possible 16, due to various injuries, and lost both of those. And that his last winning season as a QB anywhere was in 2017. And that in New England in 2020, after a promising beginning, he ended up only going 7-8 as a starter. Newton had only eight TD passes and 10 interceptions last season while setting all sorts of personal career lows.
I don’t say all that to denigrate Newton, because he was a singular NFL talent. But he’s 32 years old now, and he can’t run like he used to. Once the rushing threat dissipated, as it gradually did the past several years, Newton became an average NFL quarterback.
For his part, Newton wrote on Instagram Tuesday in his signature typeface: “I really appreciate all the love and support during this time but I must say.... Please don’t feel sorry for me. I’m good.”
There’s another problem in hiring Newton now, in the COVID-19 era. In a league where more than 90% of the players have gotten at least one shot, Newton is apparently unvaccinated.
Newton has declined to comment publicly on his vaccination status. But he recently missed several days of New England practice, undergoing a five-day “re-entry protocol” after an out-of-town trip — a protocol that, as The Washington Post and others reported, applies only to unvaccinated players.
Those missed days certainly didn’t help Newton’s cause as he competed with rookie quarterback Mac Jones for the New England starting job. Refusing to get vaccinated was Newton’s choice, of course, but that refusal brought consequences, and now Jones will go from the Alabama starting job in 2020 to the New England starting job in 2021.
In any case, Newton isn’t the right choice here. Not anymore. Bring him back and put him in the team’s hall of honor one day? Of course. But don’t bring him back as a backup.
Sam Darnold is Carolina’s new quarterback. He’s a more accurate thrower than Newton at the moment, and also doesn’t need to be looking over his shoulder at Newton in the locker room.
Ron Rivera was Newton’s champion for nearly a decade and won a lot of games with him, but the former head man runs the Washington Football Team now. Head coach Matt Rhule already released Newton once, in April 2020, and I can’t imagine he or owner David Tepper would be anxious to revisit that bit of history.
Will Newton get another NFL opportunity? Certainly. I’ll be glad when he does. You probably will be, too.
But it shouldn’t be in Charlotte.
Sometimes, you just need to stay divorced.
