Cam Newton is 2020 Kurt Warner

We are officially in May and Cam Newton, the 3-time Pro Bowler, All-Pro and former MVP–is still unsigned. Regardless as to the roster configurations of the other 32 teams or his Lisfranc injury from the past season, this is nearly unprecedented for a player who won the MVP just five years ago.

But Kurt Warner is the MVP whose own route back to glory could provide a blueprint for Newton’s resurgence. And maybe a possible wrinkle into the overall discussion surrounding how we view Newton currently.

But first, let’s look at Newton. 

Cam Newton is the most underappreciated MVP of the last 20-years.

 

Everything has always been heaped upon Cam Newton and being a 6-foot-5 245 pound iron man with a bazooka for an arm only makes the demands greater. This even dates back to Auburn in 2010 where he carried the Tigers to the BCS championship in a win over Oregon.

 

That season the Tigers went undefeated, led by Newton who led the team with 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air–and 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. 

 

He was the Heisman, a consensus All-American, and the man with sorest back in the nation thanks to all the heavy lifting he did on that team.

 

For as herculean and all-time great as Cam’s junior year at Auburn was, he shouldn’t have had to carry that same load in the NFL. In the previous season, the Panthers were dead last in offense and near the last in defense. After his rookie season where he was crowned Rookie of the Year, Newton threw for 4,000+ yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 700 + yards and a team high 14 touchdowns—crazy.

 

The offense sprang up to fifth in points scored, seventh in yards and fifth in points scored per drive. The defense was still nearly dead last in the league.

 

From 2011-2016, Newton’s leading receiver was either Steve Smith or Greg Olsen—his tight end or his aging star receiver who was 34-years old before he left in 2013. Newton from there on never had a consistent outside threat. Kelvin Benjamin was thought to be that guy, but after two 900+ yard receiving seasons, he basically turned into a Middle Linebacker and was ultimately traded to the Bills.

In Newton's first three seasons, the Panthers improved their record, leading to their first playoff berth since 08’ during the 13’ season. And the team’s success was always directly correlated to Newton’s overachievement.

2013 Panthers 12-4:

2015 Panthers 15-1:

2017 Panthers 11-5:

3,379 yards 24 TDs, 13 Ints; 586 yards rushing, 6 TDs.

 

3,837 yards 35 TDs, 10 Ints; 636 yards rushing, 10TDs.

3,302 yards 22 TDs, 16 Ints; 754 yards rushing, 6 TDs

His 2018 season, he looked like he was up to another MVP caliber year. He led the Panthers to a 6-2 start, but after Newton suffered a shoulder hit in the blowout loss to the Steelers on primetime, the team began to fall apart and so did he. He ultimately was deactivated in December and the team finished 7-9.

 

He only played two more regular season games for the franchise after undergoing Lisfranc surgery. And in the wake of that, came the emergence of something Newton never truly had. Dangerous weapons. Christian McCaffrey challenged for MVP status, rushing for 1,387 yards, 15 touchdowns and 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four more touchdowns—this heavy load remind you of anyone.

 

And second year wideout D.J. Moore comes up with 87-1,175-4 splits. Newton finally gets the type of talent that could suit his ability and the Panthers decided to cut him this offseason.

 

In the time that followed: the Bears traded for Nick Foles, Tom Brady signed with the Bucs, Phillip Rivers signed with the Colts, Teddy Bridgewater signed with the Panthers, Andy Dalton signed with the Cowboys, Case Keenum signed with the Browns, Jeff Driskle signed with the Broncos, Marcus Mariota signed with the Raiders, Jameis Winston signed with the Saints and Colt McCoy signed with the Giants.

 

 

This is just some of the list. All signed before Cam. Newton is now an MVP quarterback on the street. And that’s where Kurt Warner comes in.

 

By the time he was 30-years-old, Warner was a 2-time MVP, but by the following year, he was a shell of himself due to injuries. By 2004 he was on a different team and in a different role than before. He was a transitional quarterback for the future franchise guy, Eli Manning. His struggles led him to being a backup for the Cardinals the next year.

 

The Cardinals believed their 10th overall pick, Matt Leinart was the franchise piece they were missing. But after he suffered a broken collarbone in his second season, Warner took over and never looked back. His last three seasons were played at a high level, leading to a Super Bowl birth in 2017.

His resurgence was unprecedented given his injury history and age, but his career was layered with overcoming situations that weren’t ideal. At this stage of Newton’s career, he’s no stranger to these same hurdles.

 

Newton held a clipboard for two seasons at Florida behind arguably the greatest college player ever in Tim Tebow before Newton transferred to Auburn to have his talents truly recognized. And the narratives surrounding his inconsistency as a thrower, his injuries and people wondering if he still has it, are all things Warner faced as well. Especially after Warner threw for 3 TDs and 11 Ints the season after he won the MVP.

 

Warner took over for a QB whom many thought was the franchise guy or close to it. Warner was seen as just a bookmark to someone else’s story. But when opportunity knocked, he was ready to answer. There’s teams that have a young QB in place right now and think that’s the guy, but Newton should be heavily considered as at least the backup under the precedent of this parallel.

 

The Jaguars, Chargers (even with Tyrod), Redskins, Jets, Patriots, and the Cardinals are all teams with a young QB who Cam could backup—and with the right opportunity flourish under the lights once more.

Given the right situation, Newton could reestablish his greatness and rectify this narrative that he isn’t as good as his he truly is. It’s almost not even fair to compare Cam to Kurt, because the latter had Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin, but this just further proves the burden Cam Newton has had to bare for so long.

Whether he’s forced to start off as a backup or not, I think teams should give Cam another chance to help lift that burden again. Just a thought…

#CamNewton #Panthers #WhereIsCam #LilLakerBoy