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Patriots shockingly cut NFL veteran QB, Cam Newton

Cam Newton

In a completely unprecedented move, the New England Patriots have cut Cam Newton from their 53 man roster and give the starting quarterback role to rookie Mac Jones.

Cam Newton signed for the Patriots during 2020 free agency and was tipped to be the successor to New England legend Tom Brady who left for Tampa Bay. He was named starting quarterback and team captain of the Patriots on September 3, beating out veteran Brian Hoyer and second-year Jarrett Stidham, which made him the team’s first new primary starter since 2002.

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After the Patriots picked Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft it was highly debated during pre-season who would be the starting quarterback. Nobody really knew what would happen with some thinking they would go for Cam’s leadership and other believing Jones would start from day 1.

However, it was almost unanimously agreed that whoever didn’t get the starting role would almost certainly get to be the other backup. Nobody had even pondered the idea that Cam Newton would get cut if he wasn’t the starter.

Cam Newton has had an incredible career in the NFL, however, it didn’t always look like it was always going to be that way. In his senior year, Newton was rated a five-star prospect by Rivals.com, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and the 14th quarterback and 28th player overall. He received scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech.

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Newton initially attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team in 2007 and 2008. On November 21, 2008, Newton was arrested on felony charges of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice on an accusation that he stole a laptop computer from another University of Florida student.

He was subsequently suspended from the team. Campus police “tracked the stolen laptop to the athlete…Newton tossed the computer out his dorm window in a humorously ill-advised attempt to hide it from cops.” All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program.

Cam Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators national championship win over Oklahoma. In November 2010, Thayer Evans of Fox Sports reported that Newton faced potential expulsion from the University of Florida for three instances of academic dishonesty, before transferring.

In January 2009, Newton transferred to Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, to play for head coach Brad Franchione. That fall, he led his team to the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship, throwing for 2,833 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushing for 655 yards. He was named a Juco All-America honorable mention and was the most recruited Juco quarterback in the country.

Newton was ranked as the number one quarterback from either high school or junior college by Rivals.com and was the only five-star recruit. During Newton’s recruitment, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, and Auburn were his three finalists. He eventually signed with the Auburn Tigers.

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He managed to hit restart on his career at Auburn and has a spectacular 2010 season with the Tigers. He won the Manning Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, and won the 2010 Heisman Trophy. He also helped Auburn beat Oregon just 22–19 to win the BCS National Championship.

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On January 13, three days after winning the BCS National Championship, Newton declared for the 2011 NFL Draft, forgoing his senior season.

Despite the fact that only 2 years earlier it looked like Cam Newton’s football career could be over, he was taken 1st overall in the 2011 Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

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Cam spent the next 9 seasons forging his legacy in Carolina as one of the FFranchises’all-time best quarterbacks. During his 9 years with the Panthers, he won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and was part of the PFWA All-Rookie Team, and went to 3 Pro Bowls (2011,2013,2015).

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Undoubtedly his best season in football was 2015. Newton was selected as the 2015 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year by the PFWA as well as being ranked as the top player in the NFL by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. But possibly his biggest achievement was leading the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 where they lost by a score of 24–10 against the Denver Broncos.

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Cam Newton will likely have offers from other teams looking for a veteran quarterback — but he won’t have much time to learn a new offense as he heads to only his third NFL team. In my personal opinion, I think the best places for Cam to go would be the Washington Football Team or New York Giants.

Washington has a solid receiving core and possibly one of the best defenses in the NFL this season. However, they lack a solid quarterback option with the aging Fitzpatrick looking like the team’s starter. Newtons’ addition could be the missing piece to another surprising playoff run.

On the other hand, if he joined the Giants he would have to face off against Daniel Jones for the starting position. But with a solid tight-end and a fit Saquon Barkley, I could only see Cam improving on Jones’s lackluster performances.

Last Updated on 31 August 2021 5:45 pm

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