Patriots Ex QB Cam Newton Blasted by Analyst: 'You Can't Play!'

In the latest edition of "Media Hot-Take Theater,'' it has been determined tha quarterback Cam Newton "can't play.''

This is the word from Fox Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb in an appearance in which he doubts Newton - a New England Patriots starter two seasons ago and a former NFL MVP with the Carolina Panthers - will be invited back into the NFL in 2022.

Said Gottlieb: “He can’t throw a football, guys, he just can’t. He’s not going to play in the NFL because he was never accurate and now, he can’t even throw a football. If you can’t throw a football, you can’t play.''

It is a matter of fact that Newton can be an erratic thrower; The Eye Test tells us that. But Gottlieb did not stop there. ...

"He’s never been a reader of defenses,'' Gottlieb said.

And this is where we jump in, because while "The Eye Test'' can help us determine a thrower's accuracy (as can stats and a team's game plan; Patriots fans will recall how Newton was at his most effective as a bullish runner), "reading defenses'' is not something Gottlieb and the rest of us can judge from sitting on our couches.

Gottlieb then cites some positives on Newton's resume, noting, "He was the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, and he’s been to the Super Bowl ...

But then he veers the conversation into another direction.

"Is he a Hall of Famer?,'' Gottlieb asked. "I don’t even get the ‘aura’ people are talking about, like what aura? I think Cam thinks he has an aura and I think there are guys that look up to Cam, but the proof is in the pudding, he hasn’t thrown a football well in years.”

Newton is 33, and he remains a free agent after having finished last season with the Panthers. Carolina of course has moved on, with Sam Darold and Baker Mayfield in competition. New England has done the same with Mac Jones, the young franchise quarterback. And Newton? He remains a lightning rod for a hot-take world.