Panthers great Cam Newton comments on crazy Christian Wilkins-Raiders rumors

Carolina Panthers great Cam Newton has thoughts on the wild situation between the Las Vegas Raiders and Christian Wilkins.

Wilkins was cut loose by the Raiders, and the move comes one year after he was signed to a massive four-year, $110 million contract in free agency.

Initially, reports suggested Wilkins' release was a result of his not wanting surgery for his injured foot, which the Raiders disagreed with.

However, another rumor surfaced from ESPN's Adam Schefter that said Wilkins kissing a teammate on the head, which the teammate didn't like and reported to human resources, was another reason why he was cut.

Newton isn't buying the kiss rumor.

“Make no mistake about this. This is a perfect example of a team, a coach, an organization being fed up,” Newton said on his 4th and 1 podcast. “If that was his only infraction, I guarantee all the money that I got my name on, if that was his only offense, that’s not why he got released."

What makes this story more interesting is that there have been rumors that suggest Wilkins did more than just kiss a teammate. The specifics of that rumor remain unclear, though.

As far as who the teammate was, Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team said on his "NFL Spotlight" podcast that it was fellow defensive lineman Adam Butler, who offered up this response when asked about Wilkins following his departure.

“You know, I really don’t want to comment further on it. But I will say that, you know, whatever you’re going through as a person, you know, athlete not athlete, whoever," Butler said. "Whatever your struggle is. if you got something going on in life, just, you know, talk to somebody. Get some therapy, you know, whatever your deal is, is your deal."

The Panthers have been speculated about as a possible landing spot for Wilkins, who would no doubt beef up their defensive line.

However, Carolina's interest will depend upon a lot of things, and namely Wilkins' health and what actually happened with his now-former teammate. After that, how much Wilkins is seeking financially will be another determining factor.

The Panthers have $18.8 million in cap space, so they could bring him in. But if Wilkins is looking for anything more than a cheap, one-year prove-it deal, Carolina should pass.

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