Leonard Fournette Explains Logic behind Pushing for Cam Newton to the Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette made waves locally when he posted a picture on Instagram at the end of March that suggested he wanted the Jaguars to pursue free agent quarterback Cam Newton.
The former MVP has been connected to the Jaguars by an abundance of analysts and outlets and even his own mentor Warren Moon, but for one of the Jaguars' top players to do the same was certainly noteworthy.
On Thursday, Fournette appeared on ESPN's First Take to explain his case, and clear up why it wasn't meant as a negative toward Gardner Minshew II.
"I feel like, you know, Cam has the ... Cam went to the Super Bowl," Fournette said. He is a great guy, I have been knowing Cam for a minute now. Like I told some people that talked to me and I talked to, it is no disrespect to Minshew.
"I am just trying to be getting into the best position as a team as we can win. That is all that was about. Just a friendly competition because they bring out the best in people."
Newton, of course, has vastly more experience than Minshew, the team's sixth-round pick in 2019 who took the NFL by fire in 2019 and is in a position to be the team's starting quarterback in 2020.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2011, Newton has started 124 regular season games in his career and compiled a 68-55-1 record in nine seasons in Carolina. In that span, Newton completed 59.6% of his passes for 29,041 yards and 182 touchdowns with 108 interceptions. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback also rushed 934 times for 4,806 yards and 58 touchdowns.
In seven playoff games, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2015, Newton went 3-4 and completed 59.8% of his passes for 1,821 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also rushed 63 times for 258 yards and two touchdowns in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Minshew started 12 games for the Jaguars in 2019 and only became a starter initially due to an injury Nick Foles sustained in Week 1. Minshew ended up going 6-6 as a starter in 2019, completing 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed 67 times for 344 yards, becoming a dual-threat for a stagnant Jaguars' offense.
In March, the Jaguars traded Foles to the Chicago Bears for a 2020 fourth-round pick, clearing the path for Minshew to start in 2020, but also taking away the only veteran passing option on the Jaguars' roster.
As of now, there has been no other official word on the Jaguars having any interest in Newton. Instead, the Jaguars have continued to state they have confidence in Minshew if he is the day one starter in 2020.
"Sometimes you look out there and, right now, if we went to play and Gardner Minshew is our guy and I’m excited about that," head coach Doug Marrone told local media in a video conference Thursday, "But do I want competition for him? Absolutely. You want competition for everybody. You want competition for everyone though. I don’t want to make it where I’m answering this question and, ‘Marrone is not as confident’ or ‘Marrone wants competition.’ I want (competition) not just for the quarterback but I want competition for everyone."
