Do the Jaguars Make Sense For Cam Newton? Hall of Famer Warren Moon Thinks So

Ever since the Carolina Panthers released former No. 1 overall pick and league MVP Cam Newton, the veteran signal-caller has been connected to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a possible landing spot.

This theory has had its fair share of dissenters, with many subscribing to the thought that Gardner Minshew II deserves to start for the Jaguars in 2020 after a solid rookie season last year. But there are also plenty in agreement, including Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, and long-time Newton mentor, Warren Moon.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Moon mentioned the Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers as two teams Newton could join and start for next season as long as he is healthy. The former Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings quarterback said Newton could start over Tyrod Taylor as long as his medicals check out, and his opinion goes the same for Newton and Minshew.

"Then you look at maybe the Jacksonville situation where they have Gardner Minshew there as their starter, who is not really a solidified starter in this league yet," Moon told TMZ. "So I still think there is an opportunity for maybe Cam to go to Jacksonville and be a starter there if that is the direction they want to go in. So there are a couple of opportunities out there for him to be a starter."

The Hall of Famer says Cam has a good shot to beat out Minshew in Jacksonville. https://t.co/gaECtxquTT
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) April 11, 2020

Moon made it a point to emphasize that not only are there not a lot of starting jobs presently available in the NFL, but the situation with Newton is also a bit murky due to travel restrictions that are a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newton, who turns 31 in May, played in only two games in 2019 due to a foot injury.

"Everybody wants to know how healthy is he and because of this coronavirus thing, you can't really examine a player because you can't fly him around and let him see your doctors," Moon told TMZ. "They want to get their doctors opinion on what they think of you as far as his foot injury, as far as his shoulder injury that he had. And those are the things that are a mystery now with Cam."

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 has had a far different start to his career in comparison to Newton. While Newton was the first player selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, Minshew was a sixth-round pick for the Jaguars in 2019 and only became a starter last season due to a Week 1 injury to Nick Foles.

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. Realistically, Newton is a more proven and experienced passer at this level, though there are legitimate questions about his health.

The Jaguars also appear to be fairly high on the prospects of Minshew starting, so it remains to be seen whether they would even be interested in signing Newton as opposed to keeping Minshew and Josh Dobbs as the team's quarterbacks.