What Should the Panthers Do with Cam Newton?

If they say having two quarterbacks means you don't have one, what does having three quarterbacks mean? Well, that's a good question for Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule who started three different quarterbacks during the 2021 season.

Sam Darnold started the year and played well in his first three games, leading the team to a 3-0 start. Things quickly spiraled out of control and the real Sam Darnold showed up. He made bad decision after bad decision, held onto the ball way too long, and the offense just fell apart.

About midway through the season, Darnold landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury following a poor outing against the Patriots. The Panthers signed Matt Barkley shortly after and planned to start P.J. Walker at Arizona. Thursday before the game, rumors started flying around that Cam Newton was meeting with the Panthers and the two eventually agreed on a contract through the remainder of the season.

Walker still got the start vs Arizona but Newton made his presence felt immediately with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown to Robby Anderson on his first two plays from scrimmage. The Panthers cruised to a 34-10 victory and for just a second, it felt like Carolina had a chance to finish the season strong. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost the next seven games and ended the year with a 5-12 record.

Newton was sharp in his first start against Washington, but really struggled in his next four starts. With Darnold under contract through the 2022 season, the Panthers wanted to get one more long look at Darnold, so they handed him the starting job back for the final two games.

Now, the Panthers have a lot of decisions to make with the quarterback position. P.J. Walker has already agreed to a one-year contract for next season, but it will likely be to serve as the third string quarterback. The biggest question is whether or not the Panthers will move Darnold and take a big swing at a big-time quarterback. Knowing how bad team owner David Tepper wants to win, it wouldn't be surprising to see Carolina be in the mix for a superstar quarterback, even if it doesn't make the most sense to part with future assets.

That said, it doesn't appear that GM Scott Fitterer will follow through with any blockbuster deal, although he will certainly discuss it.

"The one thing we don't want to do at the quarterback position is just to force something to get a quarterback in here. We need to build this the right way. We need to build this up front. With that, I think we'll have better quarterback play long-term," Fitterer stated. "I think Sam is still developing. We have to help him. Everybody looks at the quarterback position as just the individual when there are so many other factors that go into it. The receivers, the offensive line. He had a lot of leakage. He had a lot of pressure in his face and it's tough to play the position no matter who you are if there's pressure in your face. He's still developing, he's still a young quarterback, he's been through several offensive coordinators. I don't know if he's there yet, he's gonna be. I think we're going to work with him to get there."

If the plan is to bring back Darnold, then it likely means Newton will not return to Carolina. The only way Newton would be willing to re-sign with the Panthers is if he believes the team will be competitive.

“Selfishly, the question can be kind of directed towards, do you think I can play? Yes, I still do think I can play at a high level, absolutely," Newton said. "But 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 this point forward, I’m not coming back for no 5-12. I’ll tell you that now. Winning makes everything better. So to what degree I’m willing to do — whether being the starter or not — if it’s about winning, I’m with it. And then if it’s not, then I won’t hitch my wagon to it.”

So, what should the Panthers do with Newton? Well, they have two options in my opinion. The first is to move somehow Darnold, re-sign Cam and draft a quarterback to learn under him. The popular choice to do so amongst the fans is Liberty QB Malik Willis. This would give Newton the starting job and at this point in his career, I don't think he would mind playing the role of a mentor knowing that at some point, the starting job will be handed over. The other option is to let Newton walk in free agency which will allow him a chance to go somewhere where he can make an impact and potentially win a Super Bowl. This would be where the Panthers could take a big swing at the quarterback position or just roll with Darnold in 2022 with a rookie waiting in the wings.

I do believe the better option is to bring Newton back and draft a quarterback. It's too big of a risk to give up multiple first round picks and potentially a young established player for a veteran quarterback that may only be with the organization for 2-3 years. That said, it might not be the direction that Rhule wants to go in knowing that he is on the hot seat heading into 2022. It also may not be the situation that Newton wants to be in either and you have to respect that. He's getting toward the end of his career and wants another shot at a ring. Regardless of what happens, the Panthers have to avoid a scenario where the top two quarterbacks on the roster are Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker.

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