Cam Newton would vote Derek Carr for 2016 NFL MVP

Share

The NFL will have a new Most Valuable Player this season and the reigning MVP thinks the award should go to a Bay Area quarterback.

On Wednesday, Cam Newton gave his 2016 MVP endorsement to Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

"For him, and his importance to his team -- when we played Oakland, it was a different team. When he came back in ... the energy was just as impactful as anybody coming back in the game, and what he meant to his team was everything,” Newton told the Tampa Bay Times. “That's why I'd vote for him."

Carr, who fractured his right fibula in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts, won't take another snap this season. But his body of work and significance to his team were enough for Newton.

In a Week 12 win over the Panthers, Carr completed 26 of 38 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns, orchestrating a come-from-behind victory over the reigning NFC champions while nursing a dislocated pinky finger he sustained in the third quarter.

Despite his season-ending injury, Carr led the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since 2002, passing for 3,947 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing almost 64 percent of his passes.

The last Raiders quarterback to be named MVP was Rich Gannon in 2002, the year Oakland last reached the Super Bowl.

Contact Us