It is all but official that the LA Chargers won’t sign Cam Newton.
The LA Chargers have been tied to Cam Newton all offseason. Even before the former MVP was released by the Carolina Panthers, the Chargers were tabbed as a potential landing.
Newton has still not found a new team to call home in the league and even with the Chargers drafting Justin Herbert, we could not completely rule out the possibility of Newton coming to LA.
Now we can, as Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn has effectively ruled the Chargers out from signing Newton.
Lynn said in an interview with Zach Gelb of CBS Sports that the Chargers did explore the idea of signing Newton after he was released but ultimately passed on the opportunity. Lynn went as far as to say that Cam is going to make a difference on someone else’s roster in 2020.
The main reason for passing on Newton, according to Lynn, is that he has confidence in the current quarterback room, which is not a surprise. Lynn has not been shy in showing how bullish he is on Tyrod Taylor heading into 2020.
However, at the end of the day, it is still a mistake that the LA Chargers didn’t take a chance on Cam Newton.
Why the LA Chargers are making a mistake by passing on Cam Newton:
I have been pro-Cam Newton since it was reported that his tenure in Carolina might be coming to a close and it has always been the same argument since the beginning: the potential ceiling.
Yes, there are concerns about whether or not he is fully healthy and yes, for a while, we did not know what the price was going to be for Cam. However, with Jameis Winston’s $1 million contract with the New Orleans Saints, it became quite clear that Newton was not going to cost an arm and a leg.
It is all about the potential, about how good the Chargers could be if Newton was even 80 percent of what he was three years ago. When you have a roster as talented as the Chargers, sometimes you have to take risks.
And this is not even saying that Newton would be a lock to be the starting quarterback. A big argument against Newton is that at this point in his career, Taylor is the better quarterback. That is a fine argument, but if I am the Chargers, I look at Tyrod and tell him to prove it.
Bring in Cam and have him fight for the position because at least then you are giving yourself the chance to have a much higher ceiling. If Cam does not impress in training camp and the preseason then you turn to Tyrod, which is the plan, anyway.
Darn, Dean Spanos could lose out on a million bucks if Newton does not pan out. How will he ever recover?
This could even have a domino effect on Lynn’s tenure with the team as well. As a fan, I obviously hope this is not the case, but if Tyrod really struggles next year and the Chargers win six or fewer games, I absolutely could see a reality where Lynn is let go.
He seems like the reason why the Chargers brought Tyrod in and are starting him in the first place. If his guy ends up disappointing and Cam has a great elsewhere then it is going to be an awful look. At that point, I would not blame Tom Telesco for bringing in another head coach for Justin Herbert, as much as I like Lynn.
However, the contrary is also true as well. If Tyrod comes out and thrives then Lynn looks like a genius, and this writer looks foolish.
At that point, I will be more than happy to eat crow. I just can’t help but feel like the LA Chargers are foolish for passing up on such a low-risk, high-reward signing.