I always find myself reminiscing about the 2011 NFL Draft. Just last week, I was talking about Von Miller and his trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Rams. Von was drafted in that memorable class of 11. I may sound like a broken record player, but this was the draft that introduced us to J.J. Watt, Julio Jones, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman, and A.J. Green to give some names. The biggest was the number one overall pick. A kid from Auburn named Cam Newton. The Carolina Panthers took a chance on him hoping he’d be the face of the franchise for years to come. Last year, Cam and the Panthers parted ways and he was a free agent for the first time in his career. He would end up being signed by the New England Patriots, but could never fit in out there in Foxboro. Even when the Patriots added weapons in free agency to complement him, the team would end up drafting Mac Jones and before this season started, Cam was released by the Patriots. Everything comes back. Today, it was announced that Cam is signing a free agent contract to return to Carolina.
The last few years have been tough for him. Toward the end of his first stint with the Panthers, he was on and off the field because of injuries. Even in New England last season, he, unfortunately, tested positive for COVID-19 and when he returned to the field, he never looked like the same guy. Everybody wanted to criticize him for having a down year, but look at the predicament he came into in 2020. There were no training camps and he had limited time to learn the playbook. The pandemic messed a lot of things up. The other was the lack of weapons he had around him. People love to say someone is washed up when in all actuality, he had nothing to work with nor could he develop chemistry with his weapons. When Cam is healthy, he can impact a team. I’ve been on record saying he’s always had that big smile on his face when he’s running around with the ball or he’s making plays. You can see how much he loves the game of football because he brings that childish energy with him to the field. Cam is a competitor. He leaves it all on the field. How about the toughness he displays? He gets drilled whether it’s in the pocket or out.
The one piece of advice I must offer him is to change up how he plays. He’s older now and when he runs, defenders will aim low to stop him which could result in injuries. He needs to look up the way Ben Roethlisberger plays. For years, Ben was a bigger guy using mobility and had a way to extend plays. Now, you see him throw the ball from the pocket much quicker instead of holding onto the ball longer. That’s how Cam needs to play now. As for Carolina, he’s a better option than anything they have on the roster. Sam Darnold is hurt and not sure what I’ll get from P.J. Walker. Matt Barkley? Who knows. I’ll take Cam over everything they have right now.
