Should Steelers upgrade the backup QB position with Cam Newton?

The New England Patriots recently released former MVP quarterback, Cam Newton. Should the Steelers try to add him as the backup in QB in 2021?

Just hours before all NFL teams would be forced to cut their rosters down to 53 players, dozens of names were being called to pack their bags. While there were a few notable players who around the league who didn’t make the cut, none of them have a bigger reputation and pedigree than quarterback, Cam Newton.

The former number one overall pick had a lustrious a terrific career with the Carolina Panthers that included 3 Pro Bowls and 1 First-Team All-Pro in 2015 – the year he was named the NFL MVP and took his team to the Super Bowl.

Since the apex of his career in 2015, Newton slowly fell out of favor in Carolina and was injured in 2019 before signing with the New England Patriots last season. However, Newton’s journey with Bill Belichick ended much sooner than most would have predicted, and the team recently parted ways with him after a spectacular summer from first-round pick, Mac Jones.

Newton will soon be snatched up by a team – either to compete for a starting gig or to be an experienced, reliable number two quarterback somewhere. Should the Steelers be calling?

Steelers could upgrade QB2 with Cam Newton

If we are being real with ourselves, we know that if a starting quarterback were to go down for the season, the team would have essentially no chance of winning the Super Bowl (with a random few exceptions in history). However, that may not be the case if Newton was Pittsburgh’s backup.

While Mason Rudolph has been serviceable at best, he is what he is: a game-managing QB with unspectacular tools who can be a stop-gap player for a few games. To me, Newton is easily an upgrade.

Just looking at Newton’s raw statistical production from 2020, you won’t come away impressed. He had just 8 passing touchdowns to go with 10 interceptions, but he wasn’t as bad as these numbers would suggest. Much of this had to do with how often the Patriots ran the ball in the red zone last year, and Newton was responsible for another 12 scores in this department, according to Pro Football Reference.

Cam Newton has never been the most consistent quarterback, but his big-play ability is something that hasn’t left him. Newton has the ability to take over games by extending the play or chewing up yards on the ground. In 15 games last year, he rushed for 592 yards.

For a team that would hope to get by on their defense and running the football in the event of an injury to Ben Roethlisberger, this is exactly the type of quarterback they would need. In addition, offensive coordinator Matt Canada could find creative ways to use his skill set.

Newton is only a shade of the quarterback he used to be at his peak, but he would still make one of the best backups in the league. If something were to happen to Big Ben, I would feel much better about Pittsburgh’s playoff and Super Bowl chances with a player like Cam Newton. With so much riding on this season, this is an option the Steelers should explore.