I think it’s important to acknowledge that we can have a conversation about backup quarterback without it being an indictment on Wentz’s durability—whether or not you think he’s “injury prone” is beside the point. We should always be looking to employ the best backup quarterback possible.
Which brings me to Cam Newton.
The fact that the Eagles have had to finish each of the past three seasons with a different QB under center (no matter what you think that says/doesn’t say about Wentz) should be proof enough of the importance of being prepared with a backup at the position.
Newton’s name hasn’t been connected with the Eagles through any credible source, but that hasn’t stopped some pundits from speculating that he might be a good fit in Philly.
The emphasis from McIntyre is ridiculous, but his logic isn’t totally off the mark. I don’t think this move is likely, but I don’t think it’s wrong to consider.
The excuses for why not to bring in Newton run the gamet, but the big three I hear are cost, health, and fit.
For starters, I’m not sure why anyone would say, “he’ll want too much money.” That just couldn’t make less sense—why would a player who knows he’s coming in to be a backup ask for ‘big money.’ If you think Cam is that dense, you need a reality check.
Additionally, I would say the claim that he’s injury-prone is fairly ignorant. Prior to 2019 Newton had been available for 130 of 135 possible games in his career. For comparisons sake, Wentz has been hurt (unavailable) for 22 of the 86 games his teams have played in (dating back to senior year at NDSU)—jus’ sayin.
Of course, the Lisfranc fracture that ended Newton’s 2019 campaign, and the shoulder injury that he played through in 2018 are fresh in people’s mind, but the fact of the matter is that if he wouldn’t be asked to handle a starting workload it naturally alleviates injury concerns to some degree. Keep in mind that in 2019 our backup was 40 years old, and Cam is a 31 year old who’s still a 6’5” 240 lb frame of muscle last time I checked.
However, I can understand concerns over his fit in the teams offensive scheme & even locker room. Obviously you want a #2 QB who fits your system, and while Cam isn’t the best fit, the amount of offense he opens up with his legs is an obvious counter balance to whatever we lose in the rest of the playbook. Not to mention the sizable talent-gap between he and Sudfeld renders any scheme questions irrelevant in my eyes.
Assuming Cam is humbled by losing a starting job, I wouldn’t expect him to be the locker room “distraction” or “ego” that some claim he might be.
And in case Cam’s talent is in doubt, here are his numbers from 2016-18:
| comp. % | TD-Int | Pass Yds | Rush TDs | Rush Yds | |
| 2016 | 52.9% | 19-14 | 3,509 | 5 | 359 |
| 2017 | 59.1% | 22-16 | 3,302 | 6 | 754 |
| 2018 | 67.9% | 24-13 | 3,395 | 4 | 488 |
Just imagine the sub-packages we could run in short yardages situations.
If you think Nate Sudfeld is a capable backup then that’s fine, but he’s not better than Cam. Let’s not overthink things here, if he doesn’t find somewhere to start almost every team should want him as their backup.
I understand Wentz’s health is a sore point for some, but the evidence over these past few seasons suggests we’d be foolish not to prepare for the worst—that should be the case regardless of how durable your QB is.
I have a hard time believing Philly presents the best possible situation for Newton, but if he’s relegated to taking a backup job then I wouldn’t take the Eagles out of the question.