There is no doubt Cam Newton has always been a very good quarterback. There were questions about him being a No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Carolina Panthers as he was coming from a spread offense in college. There were off-field questions as well. There were questions about him after he signed a five-year, $103.8 million extension. Would he ever take that next step? Well, you can put the baby to bed, because Newton has proven he is elite in every sense of the word.
There was a tone that Newton set early in his career that set the bar extremely high. He threw for 400 yards in his first NFL game and set incredible marks for a rookie quarterback, including becoming the first rookie QB to throw for 4,000 yards and the first to rush for 700 yards. He also set the mark for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14.
Newton setting the bar so high in his rookie year led to expectations that were a bit unfair. He was always a good quarterback, but many were left wondering if he could be elite. Those questions came to the forefront after he signed his extension before the 2015 season.
Entering the 2015 season, things didn’t look that great. The Panthers’ No. 1 receiver from last season, Kelvin Benjamin, was out for the year with a torn ACL. They were coming off of a division title but had a losing record at 7-8-1, and there were open questions about whether the playoffs would be in this team’s cards.
Despite losing one of his best weapons, Newton put on a show all season long. He threw five touchdowns on three separate occasions. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards, rush for over 100 and toss five touchdowns. He made those around him better and was able to put the offense on his back whenever necessary. He was an elite quarterback when the Panthers needed him to be. He covered every definition of what it means to be an elite quarterback.
Now, after making the Arizona Cardinals look like they didn’t belong in the playoffs, he has now taken his team to a Super Bowl. Yes, America, Newton is elite in every sense of the word. He has proven to be worth that contract extension. He has emerged through controversy and turmoil with a smile on his face and made many children smile with gifts of touchdown footballs. He has become a face of the NFL at a time when some old faces are on their way out. There is still one more win for Newton and the Panthers, but he doesn’t need to win the Super Bowl to prove he is an elite quarterback. That’s already been settled.
