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When Jameis Winston suffered a serious knee injury in the New Orleans Saints' surprise win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, all eyes turned to free agent Cam Newton. Saints coach Sean Payton is well-aware of the quality Newton brings to the table after watching him grow with the division-rival Carolina Panthers.
However, that's not the case as per the latest reports. Both USA Today and Pro Football Talk reported that Newton is not being discussed to replace Winston in New Orleans. Winston was replaced by Trevor Siemian, who led the Saints to a 36-27 victory over Tom Brady's Buccaneers.
It is unlikely that the Saints will depend on Siemian or turn to Taysom Hill in Winston's absence to make the playoffs. There were rumors about a possible return for Drew Brees too, but that's also not going to happen. Despite Newton's availability, the Saints would rather bank on some in-house options.
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Newton has been a free agent since being released by the New England Patriots prior to the start of the regular season. In what was a bold move, Bill Belichick decided to push forward with rookie Mac Jones following Newton's poor preseason.
But Newton wasn't going to buy it:
“There’s not 32 guys out there better than me,” Newton said after being cut. “Let’s be honest.”
There's an argument to be made that Newton wasn’t that bad for the Patriots or in the preseason, but he'd have to learn from a new playbook with a new team. Now that's a task! Also, it's not guaranteed that Newton will be reliable just because he's a veteran quarterback. There's still a chance that his style of play may not fit into the offensive scheme.
The 32-year-old quarterback missed a chunk of the preseason with the Patriots due to a misunderstanding of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols, which could have cost him the starting quarterback job in New England. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in mid-October, he's hopeful to hit the ground running soon.
Also Read: Why does Cam Newton wear bold outfits?
