Jamie Newman is a name American football fans should be aware of. Maybe you can’t name all his statistics, or rattle off his awards, but you know he was a solid college Quarterback. After his college career he went undrafted signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. This stop didn’t end up how he would have hoped and it left him looking for his next opportunity in the CFL.
Hamilton Happy to Oblige
Hamilton, saw an opportunity to bring in a high upside back up quarterback. They seized this opportunity with no hesitation bringing in Newman as a developmental prospect. Normally, players from the American game need a couple weeks to acclimate to the rule changes in the Canadian version of Football.
Hamilton, had this in mind when they signed Newman. With two veterans ahead of him, they had no intentions of forcing him into action right away. Ultimately he would see his first action in week 8. He immediately put on display his patented athleticism for all to see. By rushing 2 times for 0 yards and 1 touchdown.
Rushing Threat
He would again enter the game in week 10 this time attempting and completing two passes for 4 yards, while running 7 times for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. Hamilton decided Newman’s nose for the endzone was worth testing again in week 11. He was asked to run one time, which he took one yard for a touchdown. At this point Newman had 10 carries for 56 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Heading into week 13 Hamilton needed to turn to the backup quarterback. He responded by starting his first game as a professional quarterback and playing decent. He completed 16 of 27 passing attempts for 175 yards 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, adding 6 carries for 24 yards. While this performance didn’t blow anyone out of the water, it wasn’t necessarily supposed to.
Reasonable Expectations
Hamilton wasn’t expecting Newman to light the world on fire. In fact the team was more concerned with protecting the young quarterback from decimating his confidence. That’s part of why they turned to another quarterback following his interception. Allow him to step back and observe another quarterback although the man who stepped in, Jalen Morton, struggled as well.
Currently Hamilton has a ton of questions at quarterback with their incumbent Dane Evans now healthy. Evans was nursing an injury but was cleared to play this past week. If not for poor play Evans may have started week 13. Instead it was Newman who got the nod. However after the way Newman was benched to finish out the game it remains to be seen how the Tiger-Cats decide to move forward.
Upside Abound with Newman
One thing is for sure Newman might offer the highest upside of any quarterback in Hamilton. Newman will turn 25 years old in December, headed into his 3rd year as a professional quarterback. Mathew Shiltz, and Dane Evans are both significantly older. Shiltz turning 30 in December, and Evans turning 29 in November. Morton is the only other young option on the roster at quarterback having turned 25 in July.
Morton has been in the professional realm since the 2020 season when he had a stint with the Green Bay Packers. He was believed to have the upper hand given the fact that he joined Hamilton in 2021. Surprisingly, He wouldn’t see playing time until this past weekend with the CFL, only after Newman struggled. In my eyes this tells us everything we need to know about the opinions of the coaching staff, Newman could be the future at QB, they just need him to prove it.
