Washington Football Team: No, Ron Rivera isn’t considering a Cam Newton reunion

The Washington Football Team made a string of surprising moves before Tuesday’s roster deadline, as they released wideout Antonio Gandy-Golden, running back Peyton Barber, cornerback Jimmy Moreland and safety Jeremy Reaves.

If you take a look around the league, however, those moves paled in comparison in the surprise department to the Patriots’ release of Cam Newton.

The move sent shockwaves across the NFL landscape, as it paved the way for first-round selection Mac Jones, who looked like the better quarterback throughout camp and the preseason, to start from Day 1 as a rookie.

Anyway, enough about the Patriots.

As we expected, Newton’s bombshell prompted fans to revive the reunion buzz with Ron Rivera, who coached him for nine years in Carolina.

We hate to break it to you, folks, but it’s not happening.

Football Team HC Ron Rivera isn’t reuniting with Cam Newton

While the idea sounds intriguing given the success Rivera and Newton enjoyed together, a fairytale ending doesn’t sound likely.

For starters, Rivera had a golden opportunity to sign Newton in free agency this offseason. Instead, he opted for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

That decision spoke volumes when you consider that Fitzpatrick signed a one-year, $10 million contract, and the Patriots re-signed Cam for $5.1 million. We know Washington had ample cap space to work with in the offseason, but Fitzpatrick and Newton aren’t worlds apart as far as talent is concerned.

Rivera also could’ve signed Newton two offseason’s ago before he landed with the Patriots just before the start of training camp.

Instead, he rolled with a physically compromised Alex Smith, who had just returned from nearly losing his leg, Dwayne Haskins for six games and Kyle Allen for four contests after Haskins was benched.

Did the former head coach-QB duo have a falling out or does Rivera simply think that Fitzpatrick brings more to the table as a passer than Newton? What about Fitz potentially being a better fit in Washington’s system than the former MVP?

All three concepts could be true. However, the bottom line is that Rivera isn’t going to pursue Newton when he’s put all of his eggs in the Fitzpatrick basket. Further, he seems to like what Taylor Heinicke offers as a backup.

Allen is also a more than serviceable third-stringer, and he’s currently on the books for less than $1 million this season.

You know the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

While Washington’s QBs didn’t cover themselves in glory this preseason, there’s no reason for Rivera to go out of his way to add more controversy to the position for a player in Newton, who, if we’re being honest, might no longer be starting material and needs a specific offensive system to flourish.

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