JP Finlay of NBC Washington has spoken to sources in the Washington organization and he says there doesn’t appear to be much different than last year when the team made no effort to sign QB Cam Newton.
Newton has come up as a potential option for Washington this offseason, considering they’re clearly in need of a legit starter and he has ties to both Ron Rivera and Marty Hurney from their time together in Carolina.
People were mentioning the same ties between Newton and Washington last year. However, they made no effort to sign him to a contract, even though he ultimately agreed to a very reasonable deal with the Patriots. Instead, Washington actually traded for Newton’s backup Kyle Allen, who is still on their roster.
Newton didn’t have a great season for the Patriots last year, so it’s not as though his stock has improved greatly as a free agent.
Finlay wonders if Newton could be a backup plan in case Washington misses out on other options this offseason. Although, he still considers it unlikely that we’ll see Newton suiting up for Washington in 2021.
Newton is once again projected to have a pretty tepid free-agent market and there have been some rumors he might be considering retirement, especially given his health concerns the two seasons prior. He shut that down, though, and made it clear he believes he’s still a starting-level quarterback in the NFL.
“I can’t go out like that. I hear all of that talk. My pride won’t allow me to do it. There aren’t 32 guys better than me,” he said, via the Boston Globe. “Put it like that. [And] I’m not 32.”
Newton, 31, 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 back in June. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
In 2020, Newton has 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 have him included in our Top 100 – 2021 Free Agents list.
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