Can we stop saying Cam Newton is a bad quarterback?
By John Buhler
![Credit: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images Credit: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/f4c2c5db55aa37b4811f691d2b1bf07caeed884f869ed815e4c690590c97e77c.jpg)
Just because the Carolina Panthers moved on from him doesn’t mean Cam Newton is a bad quarterback. He’s a former NFL MVP and multi-time Pro Bowler, guys!
Stop listening to dumb people when they try to tell you Cam Newton is a bad quarterback.
They’re wrong, just like they are about so, so many things in their insignificant lives. People who don’t have much going for them love to bring others down to their level of perpetual mediocrity. Even though the Carolina Panthers have parted ways with Newton after nine seasons, it doesn’t mean he’s a bad quarterback. It just means both parties are going in different directions, that’s all.
Divorces happen. They suck, but they’re a part of life. Newton will continue his NFL career elsewhere, while the Panthers look to rebuild around a new quarterback. That might be Teddy Bridgewater for now, but it’s likely a college superstar who will enter the NFL Draft in 2021.
In nine years with the Panthers, Newton went 68-55-1 in 124 games as a star. He led the Panthers to the NFC playoffs four times, won the NFC South three years in a row and carried Carolina to its second-ever trip to the Super Bowl in 2015. Oh yeah, he won NFL MVP that year, was named First-Team All-Pro and made his third career trip to the Pro Bowl as well.
Newton completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 29,041 yards, 182 touchdowns and 108 interceptions in nine years with the team. As a runner, this is where he left his mark on Carolina football. He had 4,806 rushing yards on 934 carries for 58 trips to pay dirt as a runner. He may not be a Pro Football Hall of Famer from his time in Charlotte, but he’ll certainly garner some votes.
Entering his age-31 season, the 2010 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback should have a few more good years left in the tank before he does hang up the spikes. Though he took a beating during his nine-year run in Charlotte, Newton can still lead any number of teams in the NFL to the playoffs if he lands in the right spot.
Accuracy issues and sloppy footwork may come back to bite him, but there is no quarterback you’d want leading your team when everything is firing on all cylinders. He has been labeled a front-runner before, and rightfully so in some instances. However, his 2015 season in Carolina and his 2010 Heisman campaign at Auburn are among the greatest quarterback seasons we’ve ever seen.
Is Newton past his prime? Probably, but it doesn’t mean he can’t help make some quarterback-desperate team better. Ultimately, the NFL is a business and Newton leaving Carolina is another example of that. He will find a new team this offseason. When he does, his new team will be better upon his arrival. His energy, talent and passion for playing football are simply undeniable.
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We haven’t seen the last of “Superman Cam”. He has at least one more Pro Bowl season and one more conference title bout run left in him. It may be the second act he never wanted to have at the professional level, but we’ve seen him rise up out of the ashes of adversity before. His best days might be behind him, but that doesn’t mean he is without a few more good years on the horizon.