The Los Angeles Chargers were among the teams in pursuit of Tom Brady prior to his decision to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But do not expect the Chargers to go after former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

One NFL executive said he would be surprised if the Chargers signed Newton, who he said “bogs down” what they would want to do offensively, suggesting instead Los Angeles will stick with Tyrod Taylor as the projected starter (via Mike Sando of The Athletic):

“You get the feeling Anthony Lynn would have played Tyrod at the end of last season if it hadn’t been a tough situation with Rivers,” an exec said. “I could see him wanting to go with Tyrod, who is his guy. I don’t necessarily see Cam (Newton) moving the needle in L.A. and it just bogs down everything else they want to do, so that one might surprise me.”

Lynn and Taylor have history from when the two were with the Buffalo Bills, and it is possible Lynn will look to use Taylor's mobility as part of a wide-open offense in 2020. While Lynn said Taylor had the inside track on the starting job, however, he also acknowledged “nothing is finalized.”

Taylor went 22-20 in three years in Buffalo's starter before moving on to Cleveland, where he lost the Browns' starting job to former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield.

Newton is still unemployed after the Panthers released him, though he is motivated to sign a deal and help any number of teams get on the winning track.

Of course, the question with Newton is durability. He played just two games last season due to a foot injury after undergoing shoulder surgery following the 2018 season.

Newton is also better in run-pass option schemes, which is not necessarily a large part of Lynn's offensive portfolio.