Tony Gonzalez: Cam Newton could be ‘one of the greatest ever’
SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Gonzalez is among those who believe Peyton Manning will retire after the Super Bowl. And Gonzalez thinks Cam Newton is ready to take the torch from him and perhaps become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history himself.
Gonzalez, the all-time great tight end who is part of CBS’ Super Bowl 50 coverage team, said the 39-year-old Manning will hang it up after Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. But he thinks the game will be in good hands with Newton moving forward. 
“That’s one of the most compelling stories of this whole process,” Gonzalez said. “You look at a guy like Peyton, he changed the position. Literally, he changed the position, how people thought about it and how they approached it. I think Cam is on the verge of doing that too.”
Newton is one of the most unique players in the NFL, a player who puts up great passing numbers and can also be the foundation of his team’s running game. He is the overwhelming favorite to win NFL MVP, which will be announced on Saturday night. And if he wins MVP and then Super Bowl 50, Newton will be the first quarterback in football history to win a Heisman Trophy, college national championship, Super Bowl and NFL MVP.
All of a sudden Newton has put himself in a position to create a legacy unlike any other player, and Gonzalez has noticed.
“If he can sustain what he did this year … if he can keep doing this year in and year out for the next five or six years, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest ever. He’ll go down as a guy who took that torch from Peyton and Tom [Brady] and changed the position to something we’ve never seen before.”
That’s high praise from Gonzalez, arguably the greatest in NFL history at his position. Gonzalez went on to say Newton reminds him of LeBron James, how he took over the torch from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and led the NBA into a new era.
“We’re judged by championship but I have a feeling during the regular seasons, he’s going to dominate like LeBron,” Gonzalez said.
A lot of storylines will develop over the course of this week, but it’s clear that Newton will be the talk of the lead-up to the game, as the NFL’s next young superstar.
“He’s so accurate, he’s so strong, his hands are huge – you realize how big and strong this guy is,” said former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who is also part of CBS’ Super Bowl coverage. “He’s a very dynamic athlete who has an uncanny ability to run with it as a runner and throw it like a good quarterback.”
The old superstar on the other sideline might be playing his last game. Many signs point to Manning retiring win or lose, and Gonzalez knows how hard that might be.
“It’s scary. The first thing you think is like, ‘What do I do?’ You’re so used to that routine,” Gonzalez said. “Football players die twice. Your whole way of living and thinking is gone in one day.
“But a guy like Peyton, I got a feeling he’s got a plan, like John Elway.”
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
