His first month in Carolina had some wondering if he turned a corner and the problem wasn’t Darnold but was the Jets. He is the most talented of the quarterbacks in camp, but will need to play well early to prevent looking over his shoulder.ĭarnold came to the NFL from a blue-blood program (USC) with high expectations, but, 49 career starts later, he has almost twice as many losses (32) as wins (17) and just about as many interceptions (52) as touchdowns (54). Entering the final year of his rookie deal, there are millions of reasons for Mayfield to reclaim his career. He was known to be a volatile teammate who could rub people the wrong way, so perhaps a fresh start is the best thing for him. The same happened after leading the Browns to the playoffs in 2020 with an erratic 2021 season that led the Browns to mortgage the future on Watson while throwing Mayfield to the curb. Mayfield came out of the gate strong with the Browns as a rookie in 2018, throwing for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns but backed it up with a brutal 2019 season with almost as many interceptions (21) as touchdowns (22). Walker has to wonder where his future lies.Ĭredit: Griffin Zetterberg-USA TODAY Sports Rookie Matt Corral was rumored to be in consideration as a first-round draft pick, but fell all the way to the third round and has the “QB of the future” tag, while third-year man P.J. Although Mayfield led the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs in 2020 for the first time since 2002 and earned their first playoff win since 1994, his erratic play led to a 29-30 record as a starter and the signing of a megadeal with Deshaun Watson that eventually sent Mayfield packing. 3.ĭarnold was an undeniable failure in New York, getting run out of town when he struggled, and the Jets drafted Zach Wilson with the second pick in the 2021 draft to officially end the experiment. Carolina has become the dumping ground of 2018 draft failures, where Cleveland passed on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson to take Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick, and the New York Jets followed shortly thereafter in taking Sam Darnold at No. But here are three landing spots that make sense for Newton now that the Panthers’ door has seemingly closed.The Carolina Panthers have struggled to get past the Cam Newton era but overhauled the quarterbacks room in the last three months. Much will depend on whether injury strikes somewhere in training camp. What comes next for the former NFL MVP is unclear, but a situation could emerge where the signal-caller’s hand is forced to walk away from the game entirely. The Panthers represented arguably Newton’s best chance of getting back into the league. Although Newton was paid handsomely, he never really stood a chance, and a deep affection for the franchise and its fans wasn’t enough to stop Carolina’s freefall over the second half of the campaign. A player that transcended the Panthers and propelled them out of obscurity into legitimate Super Bowl contention for a brief period.Ĭoming back last season must have been a difficult decision after the way he was shown the door in 2020. Newton will always be remembered as one of the team’s greatest-ever players. Now that the team has pulled the trigger on a trade for Baker Mayfield, it’s gone from unlikely to non-existent. The chances of Cam Newton making another return to the Carolina Panthers appeared slim despite general manager Scott Fitterer claiming that the lines of communication remained open throughout the offseason. Where could quarterback Cam Newton end up after another return to the Carolina Panthers is no longer an option following their trade for Baker Mayfield?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |