3 winners and 3 losers from the Carolina Panthers signing of Cam Newton

Cam Newton is home. He signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday and here are some big winners and losers from the move.

It felt like it would never happen, but it did.

Cam Newton is once again a member of the Carolina Panthers after signing a one-year deal with the team on Thursday for a remarkable reunion. After being released by the team at the beginning of 2020, the iconic quarterback spent last season with the New England Patriots before being cut by them this offseason.

The Panthers experimented with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold as replacement starting signal-callers, but with the latter suffering an injury this week, they’ve come full circle with the return of Newton.

Newton got his money’s worth, reportedly signing a one-year deal worth up to $10 million, and it doesn’t look like Darnold will ever start another game with the Panthers, barring some unforeseen circumstances.

While Newton might not be near the same player he was when named the 2015 NFL MVP, he played solid with the Patriots last year before getting COVID-19 and having his performance affected.

General manager Scott Fitterer told reporters Thursday that Newton passed his physical and his shoulder looked good, which means hopefully, he can bring some of that “Superman” mantra back to the Queen City.

With how bad Darnold had played and P.J. Walker not showing anything to prove he could be a competent starter, there frankly were no other options for Carolina except to swallow their pride and reach back out to Newton.

This move will have a ton of effects down the road this season. But for now, here are the immediate three winners and three losers from the signing.

And this list won’t include Cam Newton since it’s obvious that he’s a clear winner.

Carolina Panthers fans

The franchise player is back.

Cam Newton is the guy you think about when thinking about the Carolina Panthers over the past decade. Now he’ll have a chance to write his next chapter.

Newton didn’t have a proper farewell in Carolina and because of that, fans couldn’t be more thrilled that their chosen one is coming back to help rejuvenate them.

Not only did Newton tear it up on the field before dealing with injuries. But he was a pivotal part of the community by giving back to kids, the homeless and always interacting with fans on the street.

Panthers fans were not happy when Newton was cut last year with just a year remaining on his contract. Carolina’s brass did nothing to make them feel better with who they tried replacing him after two massive failures in Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold.

Christian McCaffrey and the Panthers defense are very entertaining. But the All-Pro running back has missed over a dozen games in the last year and Phil Snow’s unit isn’t the most flashy thing to talk about.

Therefore, Newton brings excitement back to the city that this franchise hasn’t had since his departure during 2020 free agency.

Sam Darnold – Carolina Panthers QB

Well, at least Sam Darnold is guaranteed to get more than $18 million from the Carolina Panthers next year.

Besides that, Darnold already had a bad start to the week by throwing three interceptions on Sunday and then fracturing his scapula that’ll cause him to miss several weeks. With Cam Newton now in the picture, there is no way that the former No. 3 overall selection ever starts another game for Carolina.

He might not even take another snap for them.

It remains to be seen what the Panthers do with Darnold. But his tenure will now go down in infamy.

His first three games were nice and solid as Carolina started 3-0 but he was awful after that. Even if Newton struggles, it’ll be very difficult for him to play as bad as Darnold did.

Plus, with the Panthers paying Newton up to $10 million this year, he’s not going to see the bench.

The experiment was interesting but it’s now over for Darnold. With the way he performed and the lack of interest he got while still with the New York Jets, it seems likely that the rest of his NFL career will be as a backup.

It’s been quite a fall for the once highly-touted prospect coming out of USC.

Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers RB

Christian McCaffrey became the face of the Carolina Panthers when Cam Newton left town over a year ago. Now he’ll have a chance to reunite with him to make a potentially very exciting offense.

It remains to be seen how Newton will perform, but he should be able to take a big load off of McCaffrey’s shoulders.

If you think about it, a fully healthy Newton never really had the chance to play with a prime McCaffrey.

During Newton’s final years in Carolina, he dealt with his shoulder and foot injuries. Never getting to share the field much with the elite McCaffrey that we all know now.

McCaffrey has dealt with injuries himself now over the past two seasons. That’s in large part due to the heavy workload that was brought upon him.

With Newton behind center, not only will he have a quarterback that can run the ball himself for short yardages. But he’ll also have a lot of the attention taken off of him, assuming the Auburn product plays half decently.

Newton is a dual-threat player and that gives offensive coordinator Joe Brady plenty of more ways to utilize McCaffrey. Nobody will be happier with this transaction than the All-Pro running back.

P.J. Walker – Carolina Panthers QB

When Sam Darnold was declared out for multiple weeks with his injury, P.J. Walker was penciled in as the next man up at quarterback.

Walker has had a very rocky career in the NFL from being placed back-and-forth on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad for a few years, to starring in the XFL, to being signed by the Carolina Panthers last year.

Nobody ever expected Walker to be anything more than a backup in the league. When he started one game last season, he didn’t show anything to prove otherwise despite brief flashes against the Detroit Lions.

However, this opportunity would’ve been much different.

The Panthers are still in the playoff hunt despite reeling and there was no other major competition that could’ve beaten out Walker for the starting quarterback spot with Darnold on the sidelines.

Cam Newton was the only real threat on the free-agent market that could come in and immediately take Walker’s job. That’s exactly what happened.

Walker will get the start against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, according to Matt Rhule. But even if the former Temple star performs great, it’s unlikely he’ll start again barring a Newton injury.

D.J. Moore – Carolina Panthers WR

Drafted in 2018, D.J. Moore really never got to experience playing with Cam Newton for a full season.

Moore wasn’t a full-time starter as a rookie and in his second year, Newton dealt with injuries and played in just two games.

Last season, Moore broke out with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback and while Newton is statistically not as accurate at Bridgewater, he has the ability to make players around him better.

Moore has struggled the past few weeks with Sam Darnold under center and has had a handful of drops.

Why? It could be because of Darnold’s ability throwing but we aren’t sure. But we won’t have to wait much longer to find out after the player traded to the Carolina Panthers this offseason was put on the shelf and likely done with the organization.

However, Moore should be excited to have Newton throwing him the ball just because he’s a former MVP.

Newton has never had a receiver like Moore in his career except for a brief stint with Steve Smith Sr. That’s just exciting to think about the potential providing the offensive line provides sufficient protection, which is far from a guarantee.

David Tepper – Carolina Panthers owner

I hate to say that the man who even helped bring Cam Newton back, and is one of the richest men in the world is a loser. But with all that’s happened under David Tepper’s tenure as owner, to even get to this point is probably a tough pill for him to swallow.

Tepper and Matt Rhule do both deserve praise for swallowing their pride and re-signing Newton.

And Tepper will likely make a lot more money with Newton on the team.

So why is he listed as a loser?

Well, he was a part of the decision-making as the organization signed Teddy Bridgewater to a decently-sized three-year deal, and then traded away three draft picks for Sam Darnold.

Tepper is still paying Bridgewater this season and the Carolina Panthers will now be handicapped in next year’s draft thanks to getting rid of those picks. Plus, Darnold is still owed $18 million after the team picked up his fifth-year option.

The billionaire owner has a mind of his own and he didn’t have to make this move. However, he had to have felt pressure from the fanbase that he messed up. Not by getting rid of Newton but by how it was handled and the moves that came after it.

Tepper wanted to make a bigger splash with a Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. That didn’t work out.

Now, he’s back to who he had when he bought the team.

While fans are happy that Newton is back, Tepper certainly never had the intention of this happening unless it was for a one-day contract.