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Cam Newton will hope to get his career back in New England, and Patriots fans would be thrilled to see Newton return to his 2015 MVP form as the team moves on from Tom Brady.
But former Pro Bowl offensive tackle T.J. Lang is not buying the hype.
Lang said the NFL is a “what have you done lately,” league, citing the fact Newton is 0-8 in his last eight starts dating back to 2018.
People want to live in the past when it comes to Cam Newton. Hasn’t thrown a TD pass since week 13 in 2018. Last 8 games as a starter? 0-8 record, 9TDs 10INTs. Not saying he can’t rebound, I really hope he does.. but don’t forget it’s about what have you done lately league.
— Teej. (@TJLang70) July 15, 2020
Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson came to Newton's defense, noting he did not play the final two games of the 2018 campaign while saying “those losses are not fully on him.”
Come on man…he basically didn’t play all last year and didn’t play the 2 final games of 2018? You know those losses are not fully on him i don’t believe this statement at all
— Kerryon Johnson (@CoachKerryon) July 15, 2020
Lang also argued Newton would have been offered more than $1 million if he were truly “back to 100% healthy.”
If teams felt that he was back to 100% healthy, he wouldn’t have signed for $1M.
— Teej. (@TJLang70) July 16, 2020
Stats do not necessarily tell the whole story when it comes to Newton's career.
The 31-year-old has been among the most mismanaged quarterbacks in the NFL. The Carolina Panthers often lacked clarity with respect to his physical condition and allowed him to play through injury until it became obvious Newton needed to hit the shelf.
Additionally, Cam was still playing well when the Panthers began their slide in 2018.
Carolina started the year 6-2, but lost seven of its final eight games and missed the playoffs. However, Cam actually had a quarterback rating of at least 103.0 in each game from Week 9 to Week 11, though the Panthers still lost all three games. Obviously, last year was mostly a wash due to the Lisfranc injury Newton suffered.
Lang might not be convinced Newton can revitalize the Pats. But that should only add fuel to the fire for the former No. 1 overall pick.
