Redskins coach Ron Rivera: Washington will not be signing Cam Newton

The Carolina Panthers released former NFL MVP Cam Newton on Tuesday, and Newton had been linked with the Washington Redskins because the only professional head coach that Newton had known – other than the final four games of 2019 when Newton was out injured – was Ron Rivera. He was fired by Carolina last season but landed in the same role with the Washington Redskins.

However, Rivera opted to reunite with another of his former Panthers quarterbacks on Monday in trading a fifth-round pick to Carolina for Kyle Allen. When SportsLine oddsmakers released updated NFL odds on where Newton might sign Tuesday, the Redskins went from among the favorites a week ago to +1400 long shots.

Rivera was interviewed on a Charlotte radio station Tuesday and asked about Newton, and the coach essentially said that bringing in the former No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner was never an option: "We have a young football team with a young quarterback. We have a chance to establish this. Where we are right now we have made a commitment to young guys."

Washington drafted Dwyane Haskins at No. 15 overall last year, and he's just 22. Allen, an undrafted free agent who is 6-7 in his NFL career as a starter, is 24. The Redskins also are still paying injured veteran quarterback Alex Smith more than $20 million this year, although it's doubtful he will return from a severe broken leg suffered in 2018.

Newton, meanwhile, has missed 16 games over the past two years with multiple injuries and might either have to sign on with a team as a backup or wait until some club loses its starter due to injury. Problem there is that there may be no offseason activities this year around the NFL due to the coronavirus. Training camps starting on time are no sure thing, either.

Carolina and Washington both have win totals of just 5.5 for this season at William Hill sportsbook.