Cam Newton slights Brock Purdy, other QBs by calling them 'game managers'

Cam Newton, a former NFL MVP, doesn't appear to be impressed with Brock Purdy and several other 'game-managing' quarterbacks these days.

Perhaps it'll take years and a few Super Bowl victories for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to shake the arguments about him being a system quarterback who solely benefits because of the offense in which he finds himself.

Purdy success is merely because he operates a scheme that head coach Kyle Shanahan has tailored for him while also having a plethora of All-Pro weapons at his disposal.

Even though other Niners quarterbacks have had a similar context, Purdy has done the most with it and then some, including leading the league in completion percentage (70.2), yards per attempt (9.0) and passer rating (116.9).

You don't just "back into" those numbers by accident or good fortune.

Still, Purdy has his doubters and detractors. And we can count former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton among those ranks now.

Cam Newton calls Brock Purdy a 'game manager,' says 49ers 'aren't winning because of him'

Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP who hasn't played since 2021 and has come under scrutiny for some not-so-smart comments in the time since, was asked about some current quarterbacks, including Purdy.

Here's a video of that specific clip, shared by @TheSFNiners on Twitter/X:

"Brock, they're not winning because of him," Newton said. "He's managing the game, and if we were to put that in its own right as game managers, Brock Purdy, [Miami Dolphins quarterback] Tua Tagovailoa, [Detroit Lions quarterback] Jared Goff, and really, [Dallas Cowboys quarterback] Dak Prescott.

"These are game managers. They're not difference makers."

There are plenty of ways to quantify and qualify the argument against what Newton is saying, starting off by wondering exactly what Newton means by "difference makers."

Heck, that's something Hall of Famer Kurt Warner asked shortly after learning of Newton's comments:

"If we're going to call a spade, a spade," Newton continued, "then a game manager is different than a game changer."

Newton might be able to speak on the matter, being a former MVP and all. But he's going to have an awfully tough time trying to convince some of Purdy's teammates, who are more than impressed with the quarterback not being a traditional check-down signal-caller who almost never challenges a defense or takes calculated risks.

"I thought he couldn't throw the ball," tight end George Kittle sarcastically responded after Purdy lit up the Seattle Seahawks to the tune of a career-high 368 passing yards. "Wow, that's crazy."

Meanwhile, left tackle Trent Williams feels the disrespect toward Purdy has everything to do with the fact he was the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and not a top-10 selection.

"People are slow to give him his props just because of his draft status," Williams said. "If he was [New York Jets quarterback] Zach Wilson, we'd probably be, 'Unanimous MVP, next coming of Aaron Rodgers,' but since he's Mr. Irrelevant pick..."

Perhaps Kittle and Williams need to have a bit of an educational chat with Newton, who might be confusing a top candidate for the NFL MVP award with other Niners quarterbacks in recent history.

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