Panthers news: Stephen A. calls for Newton to sit out year if necessary

ESPN’s outspoken analyst Stephen A. Smith has sided with quarterback Cam Newton in his reported unwillingness to accept a backup role following the Carolina Panthers news regarding his release.

Cam Newton is still looking for a new home following Carolina Panthers news regarding his release this offseason. He is also reportedly unwilling to accept a backup role with another organization and is willing to wait for a better opportunity when competitive action gets back underway.

This is something that was denied by NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, who claims that Newton has now reconsidered his initial opinion and could be looking to land in a prime backup spot in the not-too-distant future.

While this would be a controversial move from the 2015 NFL MVP winner. The move did receive a seal of approval from ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who even went one step further regarding Newton’s prospects of playing in 2020.

Speaking on debate show First Take, Smith stated that Newton would be better off “sitting out the season if necessary”, rather than taking a backup role elsewhere.

We have seen this before with contracted players such as Le’Veon Bell. But with Newton on the free-agent scrapheap, it would represent a significant gamble from a player that has had more than his fair share of injury concerns over the last two seasons.

"Speaking on the topic, Smith has this to say.“I think Cam Newton would be better sitting out the year if necessary, rather than take up a backup role elsewhere. Or at least wait until somebody gets hurt. I don’t think that’s what should happen, I think the (Los Angeles) Chargers should call him right now. But he is better off doing that than accepting a backup role elsewhere. Being a backup hurts him more at this particular time as it lets everyone see him as a backup rather than who he is, which is Cam Newton, the former MVP, NFC Champion, and one of the elite players in the Game.”"

The problem Newton has at the present time is that his starting options are limited thanks to the timing of the Panthers news of his release. Sitting out the season seems like a last resort, especially given that once a player misses a prolonged period of time, his chances of a comeback grow even slimmer.

Quarterback is a brutal position and injuries are commonplace during the campaign. Newton would undoubtedly be an attractive option to contending teams who see their signal-caller miss some time at any stage.

Any such wait would also improve Newton’s health from shoulder and foot injuries that cut his 2019 and eventually his time with the Panthers short. The more one looks at it, the more it seems to make sense.