Carollina Panthers: Ron Rivera selfish in handling of Cam Newton

Rivera is completely messing up the handling of Cam Newton and his shoulder.

What is going on with the Carolina Panthers in regards to their quarterback situation is something I have never seen before. Head coach Ron Rivera does not seem to want to shut down quarterback Cam Newton. He made that very clear when speaking to the press on Tuesday.

Newton did not seem like himself Monday. He threw too many check down throws to running back Christian McCaffrey and seemed afraid to throw the deep ball. If the shoulder is hurting, that would be a good reason why we did not see much out of him last night. For most of the game, Newton relied on runs from Christian McCaffrey to lead the offense down the field. To his credit, McCaffrey did well. However, there is no denying that Newton is compromised with that shoulder.

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Despite all of this, Ron Rivera sees a playoff run as being a possibility, and he believes Newton can lead the Panthers there. If nothing else, Rivera has confidence in his quarterback. Joe Person of The Athletic perhaps summed up Rivera’s stance on it best. If anything, Person was the bearer of bad news.

In talking to the media after the Panthers lost on Monday, Newton did nothing to dispel the fact that his shoulder was getting any better. In fact, he said that it was getting worse. He even told the media that he did not have the strength, a rare thing for him to do considering he always wants to play the game of football.

"“Just don’t have the strength,” said Newton. “There’s a lot going on. It’s just been the same. It’s just been that.”"

There is no denying that his shoulder is sore. He is even beginning to admit that now. The only one who doesn’t seem to see the morning signs are his head coach.

"“It’s not getting better, it’s not getting worse,” said Newton. “It’s just a lot of soreness.”"

I personally think that Rivera is being selfish here by continuing to play Newton. There comes a time as a coach where even if your star player wants to play hurt you have to say no. Give up the playoff dreams Coach Rivera. They are not happening. The only thing you are doing now is putting your quarterback in jeopardy. What good is putting Newton out there if he can barely throw? The season is practically over for this football team and Rivera continues to trot out his hurt quarterback. That’s gross mishandling of your team. Give the ball to Taylor Henicke and let him finish out the season.

Rivera is hoping that Newton can continue to play because his job is on the line. He knows that his time may be running out as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. The funny thing here is, his treatment of Cam Newton is not helping his case. Right now, it seems as though Rivera wants him out there for personal gain, to try and string some wins together to save his job. Now, will he end up getting fired at the end of the season? That I do not know for sure. However, things are looking good right now.

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Newton is telling Ron Rivera that he can’t play and Rivera does not seem to want to listen. Rivera needs to make the right call as a coach here and stop trying to salvage ridiculous hopes at the playoffs.

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