Cam Newton seemed set to enter the year as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.
But Bill Belichick works in mysterious ways and cut the veteran suddenly in order to go with rookie signal-caller Mac Jones.
Newton had to be shocked and is now looking for a new team at the age of 32.
An even bigger shock would be the Houston Texans not considering him as a starting option.
Tyrod Taylor is holding the job down in Houston at the moment only because of Deshaun Watson‘s bizarre status as being on the roster but not playing.
Rookie Davis Mills is the backup, however, it is seemingly Taylor’s team for now.
No offense to Taylor, but he is not going to lead the Texans to great things.
The franchise is expected to be among the worst in the NFL and landing Newton at this point would be an absolute steal right before the season.
#Texans GM Nick Caserio on Cam Newton: "We're always going to look at what's out there. If there's a player that makes sense for our team, we'll consider it."
— Cole Thompson (@MrColeThompson) September 1, 2021
Nothing To Lose With Such A Union
The Texans are expected to be very, very bad.
Adding Newton at least gives them a former MVP talent who was just a few days ago set to start on a team with playoff aspirations.
Cam Newton would easily be the best QB on the roster for:
Giants
Broncos
Colts
TexansAnd he could compete to be QB1 with at least 5+ teams. His time as a starter is not over
— Carolina Panthers (@PantherTalk_) September 1, 2021
He can show up on a minimum deal if he is not getting offers elsewhere around the league.
Even if he is, Houston is one team still looking for a starter so close to the start of the season.
That is not exactly a good thing for an NFL franchise, but it is great for someone like Newton in need of a starting job.
A Complex Situation
It seems clear that Watson is not going to play for the Texans in 2021.
He made the 53-man roster for financial reasons and while a trade would be best for both sides, that is just not going to happen given all the pending allegations against him.
So it is entirely possible the Texans just want to have a year of development, bottom out, and have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick in 2022.
If that is the case, adding Newton may not make sense if they still project to be a losing team.
Sometimes it is worse to be below-average compared to truly terrible.
If the Texans do want to win, Newton has to get a call from them.
He could even show up and compete for the starting job, because he will still have to learn the offense.
Any sort of boost would be great for a Texans team that will start a quarterback by default as things stand right now.
NEXT: Deshaun Watson Makes Houston Texans 53-Man Roster