Cam Newton odds: Steelers apparently not interested in signing former NFL MVP
The Pittsburgh Steelers perhaps could use a backup quarterback, but it apparently will not be Cam Newton.
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Former NFL MVP Cam Newton remains on the free-agent market, and there are essentially crickets about where the quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick might land. It just won't be with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup to Ben Roethlisberger, if General Manager Kevin Colbert is to believed.
On Tuesday, the New Orleans Saints finalized a deal with another former No. 1 overall pick from the NFC South in ex-Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston. He got just $1.1 million in guarantees but another $4.7 million in incentives.
That leaves Newton as the clear-cut best starting quarterback available with Andy Dalton still a member of the Bengals. Joe Flacco is out there, but he's 35 and hasn't been good for a few years. Newton is 30 (31 next month) and was still very productive as recently as the middle of the 2018 season. Injuries are his biggest question mark.
SportsLine oddsmakers on Monday listed the Patriots as +250 favorites to sign Newton -- they reportedly aren't interested as of now, either -- followed by the Jaguars (+350), Broncos (+600) and then Steelers (+800) on the moneyline odds.
Pittsburgh seemingly could use an upgrade on Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges behind injury-prone Big Ben, and they didn't draft a quarterback (also have Paxton Lynch and JT Barrett on the roster) last weekend. None other than ex-Steelers coach and current CBS Sports NFL analyst Bill Cowher suggested that Pittsburgh should sign Newton. The NFL Network's Kyle Brandt and ESPN's Dan Orlovsky both also have said they believe Pittsburgh is the ideal fit for Newton.
However, when speaking about Winston's singing on Wednesday with a Pittsburgh-area radio station, Colbert said: "We're always gonna watch what's out there. It's my job to evaluate any position, any player that happens to be available. And we do that. But I can honestly say that we absolutely made no negotiation or any offer to any veteran quarterback."
Colbert went on to heap praise on Rudolph and said he projects as the team's No. 2 in 2020: "We're very comfortable with Mason where he was last year. As I've stated before, he was 5-3 as a starter."
The Steelers have about $5 million in salary cap space, according to overthecap.com, and have to use some of that to sign their draft picks.
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