No, the Las Vegas Raiders should not go after quarterback Cam Newton
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have a strong No. 2 quarterback in Marcus Mariota, so bringing in Cam Newton should be out of the question.
We all know that Jon Gruden loves his quarterbacks, and has spent the last few offseasons pining over seemingly every top prospect coming out in the draft at the position. However, since returning to the Raiders as the head coach, he has yet to move on from Derek Carr, and the eighth-year veteran is entrenched in the starting quarterback position for 2021.
Behind Carr stands Marcus Mariota, who at one time was a starting quarterback in the league, and looked very good in limited action last season. The duo of Carr and Mariota gives the Raiders one of the better one-two punches at the quarterback position in the league and enables Gruden to run his offense effectively if Carr ever goes down with an injury.
This preseason, we did not see either man, as Nathan Peterman took all but one snap for the Raiders, and helped the team to a 2-1 record. While he awaits the cut down this afternoon, we have already seen some big names be shown the door, including quarterback Cam Newton in New England.
Raiders should stay away from Cam Newton
Newton may be a big name and could have some good years left, but the Raiders should not even entertain bringing him in. After battling through COVID-19 last season, Newton was not the same quarterback, and after years of hits based on his style of play, you have to wonder how many good seasons he has left in him.
Also, the Raiders are set at the quarterback position, and the only question is whether or not they keep Peterman. There are plenty of teams who could use Newton, including his former head coach, Ron Rivera in Washington, but Las Vegas needs to focus on other position groups as they get ready for the 2021 campaign.
Newton is going to be looking for a place he could start, and based on what the Raiders have, they would have to send Mariota packing via trade if he agreed to one, and then bring in Cam. That is just not a realistic scenario at this point.
Newton has always come across as a good person and was even running down the sidelines to give Mac Jones a high five during his last game as a Patriot. I sincerely hope he gets another chance in the NFL to show he has something left in the tank, I just do not think it should be in Las Vegas as a backup to Derek Carr.