5 possible landing spots for Cam Newton in 2020

3. Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders

Derek Carr is having a solid season to this point, completing over 74 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns, four interceptions and a 100.2 passer rating. But the Raiders, and Jon Gruden more specifically, are not firmly married to him in 2020 if they don’t want to be.

Carr carries a cap hit of $21.5 million next year. But Oakland can cut or trade him before March 1, and clear $16.5 million of that off the books while leaving behind $5 million in dead money. So a change could very well be in order as the Raiders move to Las Vegas, and cutting ties with Carr (or even getting an asset for him in a trade to a quarterback-needy team) is a move that should be on the table,

Apart from a clear “if all things are equal” talent upgrade over Carr, with health as No. 1 on that list based on his recent history, Newton would bring some star power to the Raiders as they move to Vegas and try to gain footing in that market. Gruden probably doesn’t really care about the star/celebrity aspect, but he will see Newton’s physical upside that far exceeds Carr’s and surely be intrigued.

Newton will have options if the Panther don’t want to keep him. The Raiders have the draft pick capital to get to the front of the line on the trade market if they want to, and more than enough cap space (assuming a move to let Carr go) to sign Newton if he’s on the open market.