Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player last season after accounting for 45 touchdowns during the regular season and piloting his team to a league-best 15-1 record.
Asking for an encore of that performance, which included five more touchdowns before the year ended with a Super Bowl loss, in 2016 would be asking for a lot. Asking for more seems like it could be a fool’s errand, but coach Ron Rivera thinks there’s still growing to do before Newton hits his ceiling.
“I think he’s got an awful lot of room to grow,” Rivera said during an interview on ESPN 730. “I think he’s really just scratching the surface of how good he can be. He can really transcend this game in many different ways because of the way the game is played today. The game is played at an up tempo, it’s played from a spread offense, it’s played from the shotgun. The quarterback makes a lot of decisions now. The quarterback makes the opportunity to run, throw or pass. I mean, he truly is a triple threat now.”
Rivera cited decision-making as an area where Newton can continue to improve, which makes sense as he’s 27 and heading into his sixth professional season. The more he sees should lead to a deeper understanding of the game, his offense and what defenses are doing in an attempt to stop it. That may not result in better numbers than Newton posted last season, but it would probably leave him among the strongest MVP candidates in the league for several years to come.
