Getty Who will be Giants quarterback Daniel Jones' backup in 2022?
The New York Giants are widely expected to pursue Mitchell Trubisky when free agency begins this week. Given Trubisky’s shared history at the Buffalo Bills with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, he appears to be the new regime’s preference to back up starting quarterback Daniel Jones.
However, Trubisky’s stock is rapidly rising, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, and he could net a contract over $10 million annually, which wouldn’t align with Schoen’s desire to trim $40 million in cap space.
So the Giants might take a flyer on former MVP Cam Newton, according to Sheena Quick, who covers the Carolina Panthers for Fox Sports Radio1340.
“I’m being told that NYG is a possible landing spot for Cam Newton. However, it’s still early,” Quick tweeted on March 8.
Cam to the Big Apple?
Newton, 32, is nowhere near the game-breaking talent that he was when he guided the Panthers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2015. He finished last season with four touchdown passes to five interceptions on 252 offensive snaps.
Since his original departure from Carolina after the 2019 season, Newton has amassed just 12 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions. However, he remains a threat in the running game. Over that same span, he’s rushed for 822 yards and 17 touchdowns. His dual-threat ability could allow New York to maintain the majority of their offensive schemes if Jones misses starts. Jones suffered a season-ending neck injury November 28 but is expected to be ready for the 2022 season, according to a January 10 story on NFL.com.
“I think backup quarterback is one of the more important positions in the league, so it’s something we’re going to look at, and we’re going to address,” Schoen said March 1 at the NFL Combine. “But it’s not just quarterback. I think building depth is going to be a priority. It might be a little bit hard early on, but you can continue to build the team up over the years.”
Putting aside the fact that Jones, who is 12-25 in 37 starts, has yet to solidify himself as a franchise quarterback, the team’s quarterback room as a whole leaves much to be desired — as it has for years. Mike Glennon is set to become an unrestricted free agent this week, while Jake Fromm will be an exclusive-rights free agent. The latter may present some upside, but neither player proved worthy of manning the No. 2 gig moving forward.
Cam Staying in Carolina?
While the Panthers haven’t ruled out the possibility of Newton returning in 2022, they also don’t sound like a team bullish on retaining the three-time Pro Bowler.
“I think we’re going through the whole process right now,” Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said on March 2, via SI.com. “It’s a really important decision for us. Do we go the free-agent route? Do we go through the draft? We’re fairly far along in the quarterback evaluations on the college class. We’ve gone through it from a free agent standpoint. We’ll look at all other options out there, but that’s definitely a priority for us as well as the offensive line.”
The biggest question for Newton, no matter where he winds up, is how he’ll handle being second-fiddle on the depth chart. Even with his deteriorating talent, he still remains among the top 64 quarterbacks in the league. However, he’s also a huge personality and one of the most enigmatic players in football. Most of the time, the attention cast on Newton has little to do with his actions. Yet, either way, your backup quarterback being a trending topic isn’t exactly the most ideal situation to have.
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