Cam Newton: "They Gave up on Me"
Carolina Panther fans have been outraged with how the team's front office (GM Marty Hurney & owner David Tepper) handled Cam Newton's departure from the organization. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN agreed with the fans and went as far as saying the Panthers "screwed him over" and I must say, he's not wrong.
If the team wants to move in a different direction from Cam because they feel that it puts them in a better situation moving forward, there's nothing wrong with that. That is a football move that every franchise has to make at some point. However, it's how they handled the whole situation that has everyone in an uproar.
Late Wednesday night, Newton posted a video of him hitting the weights hard and said "All I know is work. All I know is work. They gave up on me."
One can certainly understand the level of frustration that he has as he was basically embarrassed over the last few months. The Panthers made an announcement that they would grant Newton permission to seek a trade, but the problem is, he never asked for a trade. This really made the front office look bad, but to top it all off, they were able to trade Kyle Allen away to the Redskins for a fifth round pick. So, the team was able to trade its backup quarterback, who was thought to have little to no value, but were unable to find a suitor for its face of the franchise.
This saga was all a guessing game for Cam Newton, the fans, and everyone involved. Back in the latter part of the season when Ron Rivera was fired, it seemed like the team had already decided to move on from Newton. Then, Matt Rhule was hired and it seemed as if they were truly considering keeping him. Tepper even stated at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that the plan was to "move forward" with Newton. This was just last month.;
If the team knew it was more than likely going to part ways with him, they should have done it a long time ago when there was actually a market for him. Now, there's a strong possibility that he will go without a job for the 2020 season. After everything Newton has done for the Panthers organization and for the city of Charlotte, you would think he would have had a much smoother exit than the one he received.
What do you think about how the Panthers handled this situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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