Falcons Don’t Need Cam Newton, They Have Matt Ryan

cam newton and matt ryan

getty Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers talks to Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons.

Well, it’s officially official, the Carolina Panthers have released their starting quarterback Cam Newton after not being able to get a trade. He’s not coming to Atlanta, the Falcon’s don’t need Newton.

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End of an Era

It’s the end of an era for Newton at the Carolina Panthers franchise.

The Panthers selected Newton, the former Auburn legend, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Since then, Newton has spent the last eight years as a Panther. But, now the future could lead him to a new home.

A 2010 Heisman Trophy winner and 2015 NFL MVP, let the team down during the 2019 season, but it wasn’t all his fault. Newton went 0-2, completing 50 of 89 passes (56.2 percent) for 572 yards and zero touchdowns to one interception. He also did a poor job attempting five rushes for negative-two yards.

After three Pro Bowl seasons and an appearance in Super Bowl LI, Netwon has gone 23-23 as the Panthers’ starter in 46 starts from 2016 to 2019. Through that four year span, he’s completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 10,778 yards and 65 touchdowns to 44 interceptions.

Matt Ryan’s Silent Stats

Ryan doesn’t get the same respect he deserves as other QB’s do. Maybe it’s because he goes out on the field and does his job without making such a big fuss about it. Maybe it’s because he’s too busy being a family man to ask for attention on social media.

You won’t find him in the top rankings of NFL QB’s on google. Except, only 10 QB’s in ALL of NFL history have 50,000 passing yards and ‘Matty Ice’ is one of them.

Throughout his entire career, Ryan has only missed 3 games since entering the league. The last game he missed was with an ankle sprain during the 2019 season against the Seahawks. Up until then, he hadn’t missed a game since 2009 and was on a 151 regular-season game streak of starts, marking the fifth-longest streak for the position in NFL.

He also is tied for the most comebacks in the fourth-quarter. He only won NFL MVP in 2016, but has been selected for the Pro Bowl four times. Derek Carr hasn’t even been selected as many times and Eli Manning has the same as Ryan.

He became the best quarterback in Falcon’s history and is their all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. On top of that, he has also turned into one of the most productive and consistent QBs in the entire NFL, with a rating of 90.

Out of all 30 quarterbacks, Ryan ranks first in yards per attempt (8.12), second in adjusted yards per attempt (8.29), fourth in passer rating (101.2), and has thrown the fifth-most touchdowns (114).

He has been consistently near the top of ESPN’s QB Rating statistics since 2008. Except for 2009 when he was injured.

Newton Working Out With Falcon’s WRs

Newton was seen on Falcons former receiver, Mohamed Sanu’s Instagram story throwing the pigskin around with Christian Blake and Calvin Ridley last week.

Duh, he lives in Atlanta. 

Newton won’t have much trouble finding a new home as a backup. He’ll have to work back up to his QB1 status but it won’t be in Flowery Branch.

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