4 Carolina Panthers jersey numbers that should be permanently retired

Cam Newton – Former Carolina Panthers QB

Much like Steve Smith, things did not resolve in an amicable fashion between the Carolina Panthers and their iconic quarterback Cam Newton. It might be some time before these wounds heal fully, but few would argue the signal-caller isn’t more than deserving of having his No. 1 jersey retired.

The Panthers were on a road to nowhere before they got the chance to select Newton with the first overall selection in 2011. He was coming off a Heisman Trophy campaign at Auburn and to say he took this momentum into the professional ranks would be the biggest of understatements.

Nobody has seen anything like Newton before.

He took the league by storm and turned Carolina from a relative afterthought into the national media spotlight and, more importantly, into legitimate Super Bowl contention.

This almost arrived in 2015 when the Panthers reached the big game only to fall at the final hurdle against the Denver Broncos. Newton may have struggled on the biggest stage of all, but this MVP campaign is something that hasn’t been witnessed in Carolina before or since.

Had injuries not started to take hold, things may have been different.

Newton deserved better before eventually signing with the New England Patriots, so if Carolina wants to build some bridges when the player calls it a day – hopefully as a Panther – they’ll retire his number at the same time.