Is the NFL sending a message to former Panthers QB Cam Newton?

Will Cam Newton play in 2021?

It’s hard to envisage a situation where Cam Newton is taking meaningful snaps on an NFL field in 2021. At the same time, there are some players currently starting that the quarterback is clearly more gifted than.

The league seems to have cast Newton aside for the time being. But this is a brutal business and all it takes is for one significant injury for the player’s phone to ring once again.

All Newton can do until then is keep himself in shape and wait.

Not exactly befitting of someone who meant so much to the Carolina Panthers and its loyal fanbase, but things are out of his hands for now at least.

This isn’t the way Newton wants to go out. He feels like there is much more to give and – he’s right – there are not 32 better quarterbacks in the NFL.

The Panthers have moved on with Sam Darnold, who has begun the season really well all things considered. But the team’s fans will always hold a special place in their heart for a man that turned the franchise from also-rans to Super Bowl contenders and thrust them into the national media spotlight.

Does Newton deserve better? No doubt about it.

However, there is no room for sentiment in the NFL and if Newton wanted a broader perspective of what the league thinks of his outlook moving forward, he’s had it in no uncertain terms.