Second Patriots legend calls for team to sign Cam Newton

A second ex-member of the New England Patriots has called for the franchise to sign former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

Despite their being relatively little interest from the New England Patriots in acquiring former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. It hasn’t stopped legendary figures from the franchise giving their thoughts on why such a move should be made.

The most recent of these was Rodney Harrison, who was a huge believer that Newton can still make a massive difference to another organization following his messy release by the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason.

Offers for the 2015 NFL MVP have been few and far between. This is to be expected in the current climate. But with NFL facilities reopening across the country this month. It comes with a renewed hope that Newton is going to land another job in the not-too-distant future.

Speaking on the Rich Eisen Show recently, Harrison stated that the Patriots would be “an ideal fit” for Newton. And he also felt that working with a disciplined head coach in Bill Belichick might even improve his game going forward.

"“I know a lot of people out there are saying the Patriots, but I thought it would be a great situation where he could have came in at a reduced salary. He could have came in and really learned a lot about just technique and just the intricacies of just being on a really great football team with great guidance as far as the head coach and offensive coordinator.“I thought that would have been a really, really ideal situation for him. He could have came in, competed. Could have helped the young guy, the young guy could have helped to push him. I thought it would have been a perfect situation. I’m just a little disappointed that the Patriots weren’t a little bit more aggressive, you know, just recruiting Cam.”"

Belichick is renowned for his stubbornness. And if he believes the Patriots can win with Jarrett Stidham as their signal-caller, then this is the route they are going to go down. It’s hard to argue with a man that has so many Super Bowl wins to his name. But he is going into unchartered territory in 2020 following the high-profile departure of Tom Brady.

Why the Patriots haven’t made a move for former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton

There is a multitude of different reasons why Cam Newton remains in the NFL’s free-agent scrapheap two months after his release by the Carolina Panthers. The main factor is health, with nobody able to get independent medical evaluations due to social distancing measures.

Newton is coming off the back of foot and shoulder injuries over the last two seasons. And although he looks the part on his social media accounts. No team in their right mind is going to offer him a contract unless they are convinced these problems are well and truly behind him.

Harrison was also of this belief. And he went a step further by claiming he doubted Newton would be able to secure a starting position at any point in 2020.

"“Nobody knows what’s going on with Cam as far as, can you depend on him with his health … and at this point in time you can’t invest a lot of money because he’s been so beat up,” Harrison said. “I think the best thing for him to do is go into a situation, maybe go become a backup quarterback, learn, get healthy, and then if he gets his opportunity, go out there and shine. But I don’t think he’s going to be a starting quarterback this year in the National Football League.”"

Newton has the option to be patient. If he bides his time and waits for the best opportunity to come along. He might end up putting some pressure on another team’s QB1 and win himself a starting job.

That might be easier said than done. But we have seen it time and time again during training camp when a quarterback gets injured and a team is forced to look at a free-agent pickup as a replacement.

New Panthers’ signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater is one of the primary examples of this. Which should give Newton at least some sense of hope that he might not be condemned to the sidelines next season.