The Panthers are hedging on whether they'll bring back Cam Newton in 2020. He's been their quarterback since 2011, and they might not have a viable alternative. Kyle Allen flopped last year, and Will Grier hasn't shown anything. Newton has another year left on his contract.
Carolina says only that Newton is rehabbing from the Lisfranc injury that wiped out his 2019 season. They want to see him work out on a field in March before making a decision. Releasing him, trading him, or letting him play out his contract are all possibilities.
Newton himself believes he'll be back, but it's not entirely up to him. I think the team's release of Greg Olsen is a bad sign for Newton returning. If they were planning on having their veteran quarterback on the team, why dump one of his top targets over the last decade?
Newton doesn't look incapable of leading an offense. When he was healthy in 2018, he had one of his best seasons as a passer. Only once in his career, for instance, did he have a higher passer rating. That was 2015, the year he took Carolina to a Super Bowl. He had a career-high in completion percentage and his 2nd-most touchdown passes.
| CAM NEWTON, CAREER PASSING STATS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Att | Comp | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
| 2015 | 495 | 296 | 59.8 | 3,837 | 35 | 10 | 99.4 |
| 2018 | 471 | 320 | 67.9 | 3,395 | 24 | 13 | 94.2 |
| 2013 | 473 | 292 | 61.7 | 3,379 | 24 | 13 | 88.8 |
| 2012 | 485 | 280 | 57.7 | 3,869 | 19 | 12 | 86.2 |
| 2011 | 517 | 310 | 60 | 4,051 | 21 | 17 | 84.5 |
| 2014 | 448 | 262 | 58.5 | 3,127 | 18 | 12 | 82.1 |
| 2017 | 492 | 291 | 59.1 | 3,302 | 22 | 16 | 80.7 |
| 2016 | 510 | 270 | 52.9 | 3,509 | 19 | 14 | 75.8 |
| 2019 | 89 | 50 | 56.2 | 572 | 0 | 1 | 71.0 |
Newton is more beat up now, though. He ran the ball the 2nd-fewest times of his career back in 2018, for his 2nd-fewest yards and a career-low in touchdowns (4). Carolina might prefer to rebuild with youngsters and the draft picks it could get by perhaps trading Newton elsewhere.
We'll see. No one seems to have a strong sense of where he'll be playing in 2020. But if he's healthy, his days as a viable NFL quarterback aren't over. He might not run as much, but he could still put up above-average rushing numbers. Either for Carolina or someone else.
--Andy Richardson