Tepper Explains Reasoning Behind Cam Newton's Release
This past offseason saw a lot of change occur within the Carolina Panthers' organization, but the one that was the most unsettling for fans to stomach was the release of franchise quarterback Cam Newton.
Over the last couple of seasons, Newton has dealt with several injuries and it has hindered his performance on the field. He was not the same Cam Newton the won an MVP and led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50. When Newton was forced to sit out the remainder of the 2019 season, rumors began to swirl that his future in Carolina looked bleak to say the least. But for some reason, the Panthers did not trade Newton immediately following the season, which gave Panther fans hope that he would remain with the team.
Unfortunately, the Panthers had to release Newton after their efforts failed in trying to find a trade partner in late March. It was a bad look for the organization to let a player that meant so much to the city and the franchise to go out the way he did. It was deemed a big failure that they couldn't get anything in return for him, which is probably what set the fan base off more than anything.
Wednesday afternoon, team owner David Tepper talked about the decision making that went into moving on from Newton and why the Panthers elected to let him walk.
"We really respected Cam, and we still do, obviously. And I wish him the best possible up in New England," Tepper said. "The problem with COVID and such and not knowing what was going on, it put us in a very difficult position at his salary, quite frankly. And we made the best possible decision we could given the circumstances."
Money is something that the Panthers were very tight on this season after having so much tied up in dead cap space. Keeping Newton beyond the 2019 season could have been possible, but I believe the injury concerns and the offensive scheme of the new coaching didn't particularly fit.
The Panthers have officially closed the book on the Cam Newton era and will begin a new era with Teddy Bridgewater next Sunday vs the Las Vegas Raiders.
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