"All I know is work...They gave up on me."
These were the words of the former MVP and quarterback of the Caroline Panthers Cam Newton when his team released him for future investment in a new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. All the respect for Bridgewater as he proved himself to be a very effective quarterback back when he was on the Saints during Drew Brees's thumb injury. Bridgewater deserved more than a backup QB2 position so the Panthers are taking him to grow his potential. This led to the not surprising, but disappointing release of Newton from his former team where he had played his first nine seasons.
Newton has proved his dominance on the football field all throughout his career. From his creative choices of personal fashion to his one-of-a-kind touchdown celebrations, his influence spread not only on the field but on many occasions off. During the 2015 season, he produced one of Carolina's best records, racking up a record of 15-1 (15 wins and 1 loss in the regular season). He also threw a completion rate of 59.8% for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions, leading to a passer rating of 99.4. Not only was his arm on point, Cam on his legs was phenomenal. He ran 636 yards and had 10 rushing touchdowns. With his amazing regular season, he was able to take his team to Super Bowl 50, where they faced the tenacious Denver Broncos led by Peyton Manning. That year he won MVP (Most Valuable Player). The 2016 season was a quiet one for Newton with a record of 6-8 in the games he played, but he was able to get the Panthers back to the playoffs in 2017. He then started the 2018 with a record of 6-2 before he got injured. Finally during this past season, he faced a foot injury in his second season, and he has not played a game since.
Well as many have seen, Cam Newton has always played phenomenally whenever he was on the field with his great height to throw inside the pocket to his legs to run for gains. His devastating injury history is what caused the Panthers to lose faith in him. So during the off-season, he has been working out trying to get himself back to 100% for the next season, as he waited for a team to contact him. The two most viable teams Newton could be of value seemed to be the Jacksonville Jaguars, as they traded Nick Foles in favor of sophomore quarterback Gardner Minshew. Obviously, Newton has more experience than Minshew so he may be a great add to the line-up. Another team that seemed to look at Newton were the Chargers as they traded away their star quarterback Phillips Rivers. In the end, the Patriots with Bill Belichick came to terms with Newton. With the recent loss of Tom Brady, a new quarterback to lead the team was needed. Belichick was always in favor of a pure pocket passer which Tom Brady executed with excellence for the many years he played, but Cam Newton's throwing ability and mobility outside of the pocket may just be exactly what the Patriots need to succeed in the next season and onwards into the future.
