Cam Newton Rumors: Ranking the LA Chargers and other potential fits

3. Cam Newton Rumors: Cam being a back-up in Philly

The latest team to emerge in the Cam Newton market is the Philadelphia Eagles, who were not one of the initial teams that anyone though Newton could go to. The Eagles already have their franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz, so why would they be interested in Cam Newton?

This narrative was born when Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports made the case for the Eagles being interested in Newton or Jameis Winston to be Wentz’s backup next season. It makes sense, especially considering that Wentz has been a bit injury-prone and the Eagles won their Super Bowl with a back-up quarterback.

If there is any team that knows the importance of a back-up quarterback, it is the Eagles.

However, there are multiple things working against this dynamic. First of all, Newton is going to want to go to a team where he has a chance to start and there is no way that Doug Pederson starts Newton over a healthy Wentz.

Sure, it would give Newton a team for a year but would do nothing to increase his free-agent value after the season, which is what he should be worrying about. He would have to be banking on Wentz getting hurt, which is actually a realistic outcome.

The Eagles would likely have to pay Newton more upfront as other teams as well. While he still is not going to get a big salary, he probably will get incentive-based offers from other teams. So if he is going to essentially forego those incentives by signing to be a backup then the Eagles will have to take a bigger guaranteed cap hit.

So while it makes sense when we consider Wentz’s injury history and the Eagles’ utilization of the backup quarterback, it does not make sense for Newton, making the Eagles a worst-case scenario for the former MVP.