Cam Newton might be exactly what the Cleveland Browns need to finally turn things around.
Cam Newton is an elite starting quarterback, full stop.
He’s not a backup, he’s not a quarterback past his prime or in need of taking a step back to reset his career. Newton led a team to the Super Bowl within the last half-decade and remains many team’s best option to getting to one in 2020.
Even the Cleveland Browns.
Marcus Spears argued that the Browns absolutely should sign Newton to both have the best quarterback situation they can and also safeguard against Baker Mayfield not living up to expectations.
“He can help teams have good seasons,” Spears said of Mayfield on Get Up. “But to think he’s gong to be a guy that will be championship level, I just don’t see it.”
As for Newton, a championship-level of play is something we’ve already seen.
“Cam Newton didn’t miss football because he couldn’t play quarterback,” Spears argued.
Why Cleveland Browns should sign Cam Newton in 2020
The biggest knock against Newton getting a deal, besides the crutch that there aren’t enough starting jobs available, is his injury history. Newton missed most of last season with a foot injury and has battled various other injuries throughout his career.
Most of these injuries have been attributed to his style of play, which is mobile and headstrong. But many of Newton’s injuries have resulted from either taking hits in bad offenses or scrambling to make plays happen for the same reason.
Newton’s been hurt a lot in his career, that much is true. But when he’s healthy, we’ve seen him scramble and make plays all the way to a Super Bowl.
Cleveland’s offense is explosive on paper and would be the most talent Newton has ever played with hin his career. It could be the first time in his already illustrious career we see a level of play unlocked in Newton we have never seen before.
“When you line up the personnel for Cam Newton that Cleveland will have, he will take less hits,” Spears said. “I think this is a layup to sign Cam Newton and see where he can take you.”
An easy deflection to the Browns signing Newton is the existence of Baker Mayfield on the roster. He was drafted No. 1 overall in 2018 to turn the Browns around, something he had yet to do. Mayfield may have a bright future ahead of him, but there are only seven teams in the NFL that Newton wouldn’t be a better quarterback than the current starter and the Browns are not on that list.
If divorcing itself from a habitually losing culture is what Cleveland wants to do, then signing Cam Newton is an absolute no-brainer.