How the Cam Newton era in Carolina likely ended with a whimper

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports


The Carolina Panthers announced on Tuesday that they have placed former NFL MVP Cam Newton on injured reserve with a Lisfranc injury.

What we know: Newton underwent off-season shoulder surgery and was able to make it back for a preseason appearance. Unfortunately, he suffered a foot injury in his return to action. After playing in just two regular-season games, Newton suffered a setback. He’s now out for the season.

We all saw this coming: It really isn’t brain surgery. Under former general manager David Gettleman, the Panthers did nothing to protect Newton from injury.

The Ron Rivera component: This is no way a knock on Rivera. He’s been the most successful coach in Panthers history. It’s just the reality of the situation.

Cam’s own shortcomings: We can’t place all of the blame on the Panthers’ organization for this dramatic fall from grace.

Past three seasons: The regression has been real compared to his early-career success.

There’s a dramatic backdrop to all of this. Carolina heads into Week 10 with a 5-3 record. Second-year undrafted free agent Kyle Allen is 5-1 as a starter this season. Newton has lost each of his past eight starts. That’s not a coincidence.

With Newton out for the remainder of the season, Allen has an opportunity to prove his worth as the future franchise quarterback in Carolina. It was already trending in that direction before Tuesday’s news.

With a $21.1 million cap hit for next season, the final year of his current contract, Newton could very well be done with the Panthers.

Carolina can’t justify paying Newton that type of money when Allen is set to become an exclusive-rights free agent and will count pennies on the dollar over the next couple seasons.

In turn, other quarterback-needy teams will come calling. In a vacuum, that $21-plus million cap hit is not restrictive for other teams. In fact, it will rank 15th among quarterbacks in 2020. Newton will have interest.

We are also obligated to note that this might be the best thing for both Newton and his Panthers. A change of scenery and a clean divorce could help both move forward as separate entities.

This doesn’t make the potential end of Newton’s career in Carolina any less jarring or sad. That’s for sure.

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