Ian Rapoport of NFL Media mentioned Thursday he doesn’t see any obvious landing spots for free agent QB Cam Newton around the league right now.
Rapoport wonders whether teams would want a quarterback who is “magnetic in the locker room” like Newton has been in Carolina and New England that could “overpower or overstar” the starter as a backup.
Beyond that, Rapoport isn’t sure how much Newton has left at this point and says it “appears unlikely he’ll sign before the season.”
Since becoming available, there has been speculation that the Cowboys or Washington could have interest in Newton. However, both have said they plan to move forward with their current quarterbacks.
This could create a situation where Newton ends up waiting for the right opportunity to surface during the season that would give him a legit opportunity to be a starter again, as opposed to settling for a backup role right now.
Newton, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2011. He was entering the fifth year of his six-year, $118.47 million contract that includes $60 million guaranteed and set to make base salaries of $16.2 million and $18.6 million over the final two years of the agreement when the Panthers cut him this offseason.
The Patriots later signed Newton to a one-year deal in June of last year and returned to New England on another one-year contract this past March. They cut him to make way for rookie Mac Jones as the starter, however.
In 2020, Newton appeared in 14 games for the Patriots and completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,415 yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has also rushed for 513 yards and 12 touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Newton as the news is available.
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