Los Angeles Chargers: Why trading for Cam Newton makes sense

3. His contract makes him the perfect stopgap quarterback

So not only is he a more talented quarterback than Taylor that could make the team better in 2020, but he serves the role of being a transitional quarterback to the future as the franchise much better than Tom Brady would have.

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Newton only has one more season under contract, meaning that the team draft a quarterback this year to learn under Newton and Taylor, someone such as Jalen Hurts has a very similar play style, and could take over in the 2021 season.

Or, the team could wait and draft a quarterback in 2021. Either way, Newton not getting a two or three-year deal does not delay that process and makes it easier on the salary cap (although it is spiking) when it comes to re-signing Joey Bosa and Keenan Allen after the season.

The one drawback of Newton in this role could be that he does not buy into being a mentor for one season on a team that he knows does not want him long-term. That is not something that I would rule out of the equation.

However, Taylor can take on the role of being the guiding mentor to someone such as Hurts, with Newton’s main emphasis being to win football games. It may be quirky, but the Chargers still benefit from that veteran presence of Taylor.

It is a low-cost move with a potentially high reward that is not going to bite the team in the butt in the future. I’d rather take the chance and have Taylor as plan B than not take the chance and have him be plan A.