Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has had a roller coaster of a career. At one point, he was considered one of the best players in football. Now, he is almost an afterthought.
However, in a poll conducted by The Athletic, players voted Newton as the league's most underrating signal-caller, with the 2015 NFL MVP receiving 14 percent of the vote.
Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller Philip Rivers came in second place with 11 percent of the vote, and Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith interestingly came in third.
Of course, the poll's sample size was very small, as only 85 players—defensive players—were surveyed, but it is somewhat telling that Newton remains fairly highly regarded around the league.
This season, Newton started 14 games and threw for 3,395 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions while completing a career-high 67.9 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 94.2, the second-highest rating of his career.
Also, Newton was playing much of the year with a shoulder issue that clearly compromised him in the second half of the season and ultimately resulted in him getting shut down with two weeks remaining.
As a matter of fact, nine of Newton's 13 picks came over his final six games.
The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Auburn University, was originally selected by the Panthers with the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.
His best season came in 2015, when he racked up 3,837 yard, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 59.8 percent of his passes and recording a passer rating of 99.4 en route to both an MVP award and a Super Bowl appearance.
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