We all know that Ron Rivera, the new head coach for the Washington Redskins, is fond of teaming up with players and coaches that he used to work with. We’ve seen him fill out the coaching staff in Washington with former Panthers coaches, and the team was reportedly interested in signing free-agent tight end Greg Olsen, as well as free-agent cornerback James Bradberry. Neither signing happened, but we know that Rivera and the Redskins were interested.
So does that mean that the Redskins are likely to look at Cam Newton, the newest Carolina Panther who is up for grabs?
It was reported on Tuesday morning that the Panthers were agreeing with Newton to seek a trade for the former MVP quarterback, though Newton later said that he never asked for a trade.
Regardless of how the process started, it’s clear that Newton will likely find himself on a new team in 2020, and based on the previous speculation about Rivera’s propensity to favor former players of his, it’s not out of the question to think that the Redskins could sniff around him.
Personally, I don’t think that Washington would bring in a player of Newton’s stature to take over the team. A trade for him would take at least a draft pick or two in order to get a deal done, and the Redskins don’t have much to give away in that department. On top of that, they also seem to be confident that Dwayne Haskins can blossom into a competent starting QB for them, and though they are looking to bring in a backup QB in order to compete for the starting job, Newton is above that. Bringing in Cam would make him the surefire starter above Haskins, and it could derail any future plans that the team has with their former first-round pick.
It’s also not clear how healthy Newton is. He has dealt with extensive shoulder injuries in his career, and he is coming off multiple surgeries in the last year.
So, do we think it’s likely that the Redskins kick the tires on Cam and bring him to Washington? No, probably not. But it’s not out of the question. In the NFL, anything can happen.
