Is former NFL MVP Cam Newton an option at QB for injury-ravaged Carolina Panthers?
The Carolina Panthers need a quarterback — not a starter, but another backup to help out a suddenly injury-ravaged team with its depth.
Cam Newton — the former Panther star and NFL Most Valuable Player in 2015 — needs a job.
So could Cam 3.0 happen in Charlotte?
Panthers coach Matt Rhule was asked that question Friday night after Carolina’s final exhibition game, a 21-0 home win over Buffalo at Bank of America Stadium. He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no.
In the game, second-string quarterback Sam Darnold went down with a nasty-looking ankle injury in the third quarter. On Saturday, head coach Matt Rhule said Darnold had a “significant” high-ankle sprain. Although Rhule wouldn’t set a timetable, such an injury has often taken 4-6 weeks to heal for other NFL players.
One week prior, third-string quarterback Matt Corral had gone down with what turned out to be a season-ending Lisfranc injury to his left foot. So the Panthers lost half their quarterback room in a period of eight days, all while playing games that didn’t count.
On the subject of a possible Newton reunion, Rhule addressed that after the game, as well.
“Scott (Fitterer, the Panthers’ GM) and I would have to talk about that, and obviously Cam would have to weigh in on that,” Rhule said. “There’d be a lot of things we’d have to look at. You guys know my feeling on Cam. My time with him was fantastic, but it’s probably too early to say anything about that.”
Darnold’s injury left the Panthers with just two healthy quarterbacks — for now — coming out of the preseason: starter Baker Mayfield, who played well Friday night, and backup PJ Walker. Walker was likely going to be cut when he was the Panthers’ fourth-string quarterback; now he has received, at least temporarily, a battlefield promotion to No. 2.
But the Panthers certainly could sign another veteran quarterback and keep three QBs, or they could still release Walker and sign a veteran to be their No. 2. In any case, they probably need another quarterback to help keep the throws down for Mayfield in practice, even if it is just a practice-squad QB. A number of quarterbacks will become available when NFL rosters are cut to 53 players on Tuesday. Alternately, the Panthers could simply keep Walker for now as the No. 2 and wait for Darnold to return. Their placekicking issue is even more pressing, as Zane Gonzalez may well be lost for the season with a groin injury, sustained while taking a practice kick on the sideline.
Newton, 32, went 0-5 as a Panther starter in 2021, when Carolina signed him after a different Darnold injury. Newton was part of Carolina’s season-ending seven-game losing streak, which turned what was a mediocre 5-5 season into a 5-12 disaster.
By the end of the 2021 season, Newton was consigned to a backup role, playing only a single play in each of Carolina’s two final games. Dating back to his first stint with the Panthers, Newton went 0-13 in his final 13 starts as a Panther.
Darnold wasn’t available to speak with reporters after the game, but Rhule updated the media Saturday on the quarterback’s injury status.
Newton has left the door open to playing another season in 2022, but he hasn’t been signed anywhere and wasn’t in an NFL training camp. At the end of last season, which the Panthers finished 5-12, Newton said: “If an opportunity presents itself where I don’t necessarily need to play, and it’s about winning, yeah, I’m willing to do that, too. Because from this point forward, I’m not coming back for no 5-12. I can tell you that now.”
Newton isn’t familiar with the Panthers’ new offense, which has been installed by offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and puts a premium on quarterbacks making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. But he also played for Carolina last year with less than a week of preparation, accounting for two touchdowns in a win against Arizona.
“I’m b-a-a-a-a-c-k!!” Newton shouted after scoring in that game.
Could it happen again?
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Is former NFL MVP Cam Newton an option at QB for injury-ravaged Carolina Panthers?."
