No ESPN, The Cleveland Browns should not sign Cam Newton

Dominique Foxworth and Marcus Spears continue to prove they’re lack of foresight by suggesting the Cleveland Browns should sign Cam Newton.

Was Tuesday’s article not clear enough? No, the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t sign Cam Newton. Someone needs to go tell Dominique Foxworth and Marcus Spears that and don’t stop until it’s ingrained in their brains. I mean it’s ESPN’s First Take, the one show that has less credibility than The Herd with Colin Cowherd, so take it for what’s worth. Yet, Foxworth usually comes across as a well thought out analyst, even for the cupcakes of sports shows.

Yet, for Foxworth to say that Baker Mayfield may be a “below average quarterback” based off of some of his numbers (the rookie passing records for instance), and then in the same breath say that Newton has never been a below-average quarterback really highlights an issue here.

"Some of Baker’s numbers suggest he’s an average to below-average NFL quarterback. You know what Cam Newton is not and never has been? Average or below average. This championship window is now for this team. This roster is built to win today. They’re not going to be able to hold onto all this talent moving forward. I think Cam Newton could be a great insurance policy and maybe somebody who steps in mid-year to take this team and this offense to the level that we all expected it to be."

So let’s look at Newton and let’s be honest. As a pocket passer, Newton sucks. Six times in his career he’s thrown for under 60% in completions made. Mayfield is getting called a bust after one year of that kind of production. In nine years in the league, Newton has only thrown more touchdowns in a season than Mayfield has four times.

In year four of Newton’s career, Newton scored 23 touchdowns (18 passing, five rushing) but had 21 turnovers (12 interceptions, nine lost fumbles). He completed 58.5% of his passes for barely 3,100 yards and a whopping five wins. Mayfield in year two scored 25 touchdowns, had 23 turnovers, and six wins, all while completing 59.45 of his passes and throwing for over 3,800 yards.

Newton had famed coach Ron Rivera as his coach, while Mayfield had Freddie Kitchens. I would take 2019 Mayfield over 2014 Newton.

Newton is a quarterback who in nine years only had three winning seasons.

Yet, Foxworth thinks Newton is a better quarterback today than Mayfield? I’m supposed to believe a heavily edited highlight reel is proof that Newton found his MVP form from five years ago? What’s more likely after five years, that Newton at 31-years-old and years of injuries returns to an MVP or that he continues to regress? Don’t guess, it’s the latter.

Marcus Spears for his part, an admitted Mayfield-hater, went on to say that Newton “can still play the position”, despite failing to acknowledge it’s his throwing shoulder that’s been keeping him out of football.

"Cam Newton didn’t miss football because he couldn’t play the quarterback spot anymore. And when you look at all this talent, the pressure that will be off Cam Newton having to run, use his legs and create plays, will be different than any situation he’s ever been in and he’s had some good teams in Carolina. ….He will be able to turn around and hand it off to [Nick] Chubb and Kareem Hunt. He will have receivers that will get open on a consistent basis. I think this is a layup to sign Cam Newton to see where he can take you if Baker Mayfield doesn’t turn out."

Newton is getting a lot of love despite being a losing quarterback in the NFL, with one fluke MVP to his name. When you have six losing seasons to your name, a propensity to be bad at throwing passes, and a broken-down body, you are not anyone that should be considered to be a replacement for a third-year, record-setting quarterback.

This is nonsense to think the Browns would ever sign Newton to a deal considering the money already invested at the position. Stop it ESPN, you’re supposed to be the Worldwide Leader in Sports, not a drunk-baby version of Bleacher Report.