Carolina Panthers release Cam Newton in messy departure
The Carolina Panthers released quarterback Cam Newton on Tuesday, putting an end to the quarterback’s time with the team.
It appears that an unceremonious parting is almost complete. According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Carolina Panthers are expected to release quarterback Cam Newton.
In what is an end to a nine-year run with the Panthers, Newton has made it clear he does not want to be released. However, with the organization signing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the writing was certainly on the wall. After signing P.J. Walker from the XFL on Monday, Carolina tarded Kyle Allen to the Washington Redskins further signaling their intent to operate without Newton.
There is a financial piece to all of this. After releasing Newton, it rids the organization of $21.1 million in cap space that the quarterback was scheduled to count against for 2020.
Newton finishes his Panthers career with 29,041 passing yards, 182 touchdowns and 108 interceptions.
His best season was in 2015. Winning the MVP that year, Newton passed for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. In addition to the MVP accolade, he was named to the All-Pro First-Team, Pro Bowl and was crowned the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
He truly was the face of the franchise from the day he was drafted. He led Carolina to uncharted territory and levels of success that will be difficult to reach again. Aside from his on-field stuff, he did so much for the surrounding community – hosting his annual Thanksgiving Jams among other events.
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As a Panthers fan, I truly hate to see it end in this way. Newton has been a major part of the Panthers organization and it seems like he is part of a trend that is rather unsettling. After Greg Olsen was shown the door by the team this off-season, Newton was next in line. It’s obvious the Panthers want to start fresh and rebuild their team in order to usher in a new era of Panthers football. I just wish they did it in a smoother way.
It will be interesting to see where he lands. According to another Schefter report, Newton recently passed a physical, is healthy and ready to play. While there is already a ton of speculation as to where he will go, in a free agent market that has been wild from the day it started, I truly can’t make a prediction on what uniform he will be wearing in 2020.
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I wish him the best of luck moving forward as both team and player are embarking on new stages in their lives.