Cam Newton Was 100% Hung Out to Dry By The Carolina Panthers

Before we dive into the unacceptable way the new regime of the Carolina Panthers hung Cam Newton out to dry, we need to admit that Newton isn’t who you think he is.

Let’s start by admitting Cam Newton is not Superman and never has been. Newton who is widely regarded as a dual-threat QB simply does not have the stats to back-up the Superman title.

I’m sorry but you shouldn’t be called Superman if your career passer rating is 86.1. You can’t be called Superman if you successfully throw the ball to the wrong team 108 times in 8 years. And you most certainly can’t be called Superman if you’ve only passed for over 4,000 yards once in your 9-year career. Plus Newton could never fit into a phone booth, and his clothes look like they came directly from Russell Westbrook’s sewing machine. Look, Clark Kent would never wear Gucci slippers to a Hollywood premiere.

Not everyone can be a tier-1 quarterback like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. Still, Newton has been at the top of the tier-2 class of quarterbacks. In 2015, Newton won the league MVP, led the Panthers to a 15-1 record and made a brief appearance in Superbowl 50.

Newton is 6′ 5″, 245 lbs and requires two to three defenders to take him down. He is not like all those other stick-figure quarterbacks who attempt to cross the line of scrimmage and slide into second base at first sight of a linebacker.

Throughout his career, Newton has put up some huge numbers on the ground including 3 seasons of over 700 yards. In 8 seasons, Newton has 58 rushing touchdowns.

When Newton is healthy you can pencil him in for 600 plus yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. A true dual-threat quarterback is Cam Newton.

The issue has never been Newton’s running its always been his throwing mechanics and shoulder injuries. In 2018, Newton spent the off-season working with Panthers QB Coach Scott Turner and made huge improvements to his throwing motion.

What Scott Turner Said in 2018;
“We’re just keeping him compact, making sure his feet and his eyes are working together,” Panthers quarterbacks coach Scott Turner said. “That’s where we really started. It’s carried over into this off-season, making him a little more compact in his upper body, a little more closed off, just to make him as efficient as possible and putting the least amount of stress possible.

“Now you’re going to put stress on your arm throwing the ball. It’s not a natural movement. But [we’re putting] as little as we can, on his shoulder, to take care of him.”

Despite all the improvements, there were times in 2018 when Cam looked like Matt Cassel. You know throwing unnecessary passes, lots of interceptions and occasionally sailing the ball 20 feet over wide-open Panthers.

Instead of writing another one of those cookie-cutter articles that rips on the Panthers for letting Newton go, I thought it was important to articulate why the Panther’s new owner David Tepper and his new head-coach Matt Rhule probably decided to move on from Newton.

Clearly injuries, stats, and film that doesn’t lie were too much for the new Panthers regime to overcome. The issue isn’t the decision to move on from Newton, the issue is how they did it.

On March 17th, Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers announced a deal had been reached for Bridgewater to become the next Panther QB. The second the deal was announced Newton should have been traded or released by the Panthers.

For a minute forget about Teddy Bridgewater – the Panthers most likely made the decision to move on from Newton within the first week of Matt Rhule joining the team. The right thing to do should have been to work with him on locating a new team via trade or giving Newton his outright release prior to the start of NFL Free-Agency. Instead, the Panthers decided to wait until March 24th to release him.

Clearly it appears the Panthers new regime wanted to limit Newton’s opportunities in free agency. But no one knows why.

With most of the high profile QB openings filled, Newton is going to have to take what he can get. The only real options left are the Los Angeles Chargers and the Patriots. I’m not sure Newton really wants to play in front of 30,000 Chargers fans who were most likely gifted tickets. As for the Patriots, it would certainly be a cool story-line, but I can’t really see the Patriots paying Newton the kind of money he wants.

After 9 years of service, a trip to the Super Bowl, and a league MVP, Newton deserved a smoother exit from Carolina. All I can say is I really want to see Newton take less money, go to the Patriots and show up at Super Bowl media day in one of his electrifying Russell Westbrook outfits.