Given the choice, Cam Newton would rather be in Carolina, preparing for his 10th season as the franchise quarterback for the Panthers.
That’s no knock on his current team, the New England Patriots, a far more successful operation.
No one with Newton’s ability wants to be starting over at 30 years old, cut by a franchise he took to a Super Bowl and where he ranks as its greatest player ever. No one wants to be away from their family, who, in Newton’s case, are still down South.
Mostly, no one wants to be fighting back from injuries, clouded in doubt or on a one-year, incentive-laden deal.