Carolina Panthers: Top 3 reasons it was best moving on from Cam Newton

The Carolina Panthers have officially parted ways with quarterback Cam Newton after nine years. Here are the top three reasons why it was best they moved on.

Quarterback Cam Newton’s tenure with the Carolina Panthers is over. The Panthers made it official earlier this week when they released their former No. 1 overall pick in favor of rebuilding the team from the ground up. It won’t be easy but this was a move that had to have happened in order for both sides to move on.

With injuries piling up and frustrations building after a few losing seasons, Newton was a shadow of his former self as of late. His unique playstyle, that set the NFL on fire just a few years ago, simply wasn’t getting the job done anymore.

Similar to other mobile quarterbacks, it’s a style that can be a force to reckon with but opens up way too many possibilities of injuries. Such is the case with Newton as there is no doubt that he’s a natural-born playmaker but in the grand scheme of things, he ended up being too one-dimensional. So much so that it didn’t take long for opposing defensive coordinators to figure out how to stop him and the Panthers offense to the point of not being as potent anymore.

As much as it hurts for fans who undoubtedly grew to love Newton and his Superman ways, this was a move that needed to happen for the Panthers to move onto better days ahead. Here are the top three reasons why the Panthers made the right decision in releasing Newton.

3). No real timetable for a return

Newton, unfortunately, ended last season on the outside looking in. He suffered a severe foot injury that required surgery in order to start the healing process. Combine that with a previous injury two seasons ago to his shoulder, there was no real timetable for Newton’s return.

There is no guarantee that as Newton continued to rehab this offseason, he’d be ready to go in a starting role. With a new head coach in town in Matt Rhule earlier this year, it was the start of a new era being created. One of which was set on rebuilding the team to be younger, faster, and more physical.

Newton was a huge question mark for the Panthers since his injuries could have put the team in a bad position to begin the season. What if he wasn’t fully healed to resume starting duties? What if Newton regressed due to missing so much time on the gridiron? Could Newton still play at a high level and start winning a plethora of games once again?

It’s too much of a risk for the Panthers to head into training camp not knowing what they’d have ready to go with the most important position on the team. Considering Newton’s injury history and uncertainty with how he’ll hold up this upcoming season, it just makes sense to head in a more stable situation.