Marrone addresses Fournette’s pitch to former Panthers QB Cam Newton

Head coach Doug Marrone addressed his star running back Leonard Fournette making a pitch for quarterback Cam Newton to join the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone had his say on the possibility of Cam Newton joining the franchise.

The former Carolina Panthers signal-caller was released by the organization in a messy departure recently, leaving the 2015 Most Valuable Player with few realistic options to secure a starting spot with another team.

Standout running back Leonard Fournette, who himself has been the subject of trade speculation in recent days, made a pitch to potentially acquire Newton on ESPN debate show First Take earlier this week.

Marrone made an appearance on NBC Sports Network’s “Lunch Talk Live” and had this to say regarding the matter to Mike Tirico.

"“You know, with players, you’re always going to have friends [who say] like, ‘Hey, this guy should come, or that guy should come,’ and you try to talk to the players about talking about the team and doing what is best and keeping a single message, but then a lot of times you’re going to have to be able to communicate in that locker room, I mean that is the big thing with me,”“I mean, we all talk about men are all men and everything, when you are in that locker room, you’ve got to say, ‘Hey listen, I said this because I really think this is best for the team,’ and if you can’t say this is what’s best for the team, then you’re going to have issues. … It’s not like a coach can get in between two players and fix something. You know, these things have to be fixed among each other at times and the coach can go in there and try to guide it through.”"

The Jaguars have put tremendous faith in second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew, who showed flashes of what he was capable of in 2019. Bringing in someone like Newton might give them a better chance of success in the short-term. But it may also have a detrimental effect on their ambitions down the line.

Newton ended a glittering spell in Carolina on injured reserve with a serious foot injury. The franchise brought in Teddy Bridgewater on a three-year, $63 million deal during free agency as they went in a different direction.