Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton used a timeout in the course of the second quarter of Monday’s Hawks-Pistons recreation to audition for the Falcons beginning gig.
Earlier on Monday, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith declined to call a starter for the workforce’s Week 16 recreation in opposition to the Colts, and in truth, Newton’s throw was higher than any Desmond Ridder has made this season.
Ridder value his workforce two potential wins with horrible throws the previous two weeks. His final throw in Atlanta’s 9-7 loss to Carolina was an interception on a horrible cross that ended a promising drive that reached the Panthers’ 18-yard line.
In Week 14 in opposition to the Bucs, he badly missed working again Bijan Robinson for a straightforward landing on a possession Atlanta settled for a area objective, a devastating four-point swing in a 29-25 loss.
This season, he’s 224-of-354 (63.3 %) for two,528 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Additionally on Monday, Newton appeared on “The Huge Tigger Morning Present” and mentioned his almost two-year absence from the NFL. He final performed in 2021 with Carolina, his second stint with the group.
“I scare folks. As a result of you possibly can’t management me. I am not a puppet. I minimize them strings off a very long time in the past,” Newton said.
Groups may also be scared by how he carried out over his last three seasons. From 2020-22, he had the fourth-worst passer score among the many prime 40 quarterbacks in cross makes an attempt (h/t Stathead).
In 2021, he appeared in eight video games with 5 begins and was 69-of-126 (54.8 %) for 684 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
His time within the NFL is within the rearview, the place it ought to be. Nonetheless, it is a dangerous signal that Hawks followers at Monday’s recreation in opposition to the Pistons noticed one of the best soccer cross in Atlanta this 12 months.