Cam Newton is underpaid. What will the Panthers do? *Article inside*

[BrianS]

13 minutes ago, SuperCamDaGawd said:

So I've been paying attention to everyone's wordage on Cam over the years, and it always amazes me the things that people say. 

For instance if one says "Well the Panthers might want to see if Cam still has it". My immediate response to that specific statement is "Does he still have it?". The confusion for me is "Did we see a drop off from Cam or did we see the environment around Cam stay the same?". 

Cam got his head beat in on Nat'l TV on opening night of the 2016 season. I'm pretty sure he played that season with a concussion. Yet he didn't play that bad, however the Panthers stuck with Shula, and then their D got horrible. Then Cam gets his shoulder hurt while chasing down an interception, and Ron being Ron plays Cam in meaningless games. 2017 comes and the Panthers makes the Playoffs, and Cam has one of the greatest playoff performances in his career.....BUT because of his bag of trash wideouts can't pull off the win. I assume everyone knows how last year started and played out, so I don't have to go back over that. 

So my question is "Did the Panthers give Cam just the average things he needed in order to win?" If you have to think about this answer, then you should already know they didn't. 

So again I ask....

Did Cam go through a drop off and has to prove it, or did the the organization fail him three seasons in a row? 

Also if you have "sudden" concerns about the hold up of Cam's body then I am honestly amazed on how you can have that concern. Cam has missed 5....FIVE....total games in his 8 year career. What you should be concerned with is the offensive line. None of the game missing injuries came from Cam scrambling by the way. 

 

#KeepPounding

 

 

The questions are not revolving around what happened to his supporting cast over the years.  That's not in question.  The questions revolve around Cam himself:  Is his shoulder "right" again . . . and Can he adjust to a less physical game.

These are the questions that need to be answered.  Anyone who ignores his injuries over the last couple seasons is absolutely putting their head in the sand.  This isn't an attempt to place blame or denigrate Cam, it's an honest assessment of the state of our franchise QB. 

If Cam is Cam, there is no freaking question:  We pay him.

[NAS]

I  have been thinking about this.  This is essentially Cam's contract year.  If he stays healthy and plays well, he will get paid this offseason.  

[SuperCamDaGawd]

9 minutes ago, BrianS said:

The questions are not revolving around what happened to his supporting cast over the years.  That's not in question.  The questions revolve around Cam himself:  Is his shoulder "right" again . . . and Can he adjust to a less physical game.

These are the questions that need to be answered.  Anyone who ignores his injuries over the last couple seasons is absolutely putting their head in the sand.  This isn't an attempt to place blame or denigrate Cam, it's an honest assessment of the state of our franchise QB. 

If Cam is Cam, there is no freaking question:  We pay him.

When you say less physical game explain. 

 

Also I made the post because there are people saying that Cam lost it, and there are some that do place the blame on him. Though there are those like you and me who don't think that, and do have genuine concern over his shoulder. 

[rayzor]

florio is just trying to stir the pot. 

that said, how he and the team does this year will determine what a lot of contracts look like next year, if there are new contracts....for Cam, Rivera, and Hurney.

if cam's shoulder peters out again, we probably will be seeing some of the last of  his time here and his ability to get paid. quite a bit riding on this season.

 

[FakePlasticTrees]

Generally speaking, Kirk Cousins notwithstanding, you do not like to have your QB go into the last year of their contract. That likely makes this a pivotal year for Cam since he has two years remaining on his deal. If he has a great year then there is a strong likelihood that a new deal north of $30 millions per year will be in his future. If he has a poor year and/or injury riddled year then his future as a Panther becomes very murky.

Let's be honest if Cam has a poor year then it means the Panthers are having a poor year and major changes will be in the offing and at a least a partial rebuild will be in our future.

 

[MechaZain]

Cam's a bit of a special case due to the physicality of his game. Your typical QB his age would still command whatever the going rate is for a franchise QB, but you have to look at him as if he were high impact position and factor in degradation. If he has a healthy, physical year though he's gonna have all the leverage in negotiations.

Assuming he has a good season I think the best solution for everyone is to give him a record setting contract but with unusually low guaranteed money, so that the team has an exit strategy if worse comes to worse.

[Mr. Scot]

For being a 'journalist", Florio really likes to stir sh-t.

He had been trying on an annual basis to convince some top college prospect to sit out a year. Nobody took him up on it. I don't think I saw that article this season so maybe he's finally shut up about it (or maybe somebody at NBC told him to).

Maybe now he's switching to trying to get a big name quarterback to hold out.

[Knockout]

How Cam supposed to feed them kids on only 20 million?  This is a travesty!

[sml1950]

Cam is tied to Marty and RR.  If this year goes  bad, the new GM/coach will determine Cam’s future.  IMO Tepper will look for a 30 something analytics oriented GM and coach.  They could keep Cam if the tear down isn’t too drastic but use him as draft collateral if the make over is substantial.  Analytics will make the decision.

[Captain Obvious]

 

[BrianS]

2 hours ago, SuperCamDaGawd said:

When you say less physical game explain. 

 

Also I made the post because there are people saying that Cam lost it, and there are some that do place the blame on him. Though there are those like you and me who don't think that, and do have genuine concern over his shoulder. 

Pretty much exactly that.  Cam cannot continue to carry the ball 7-8 times per game.  Yes, I hear all of you.  He takes bigger hits in the pocket.  I get it!  That's not the point.  It's the accumulation of hits that are concerning.  Assume that you take away all his runs, he's still going to take those pocket hits.  Every QB does.  You cannot minimize those, they happen.  But you can alleviate some of the hits by running him LESS.  I do not even advocate taking him completely out of the run game.  I simply want to see it decreased.  Let's give him 3-4-5 runs per game, absolutely.  That keeps the defense honest, forces them to prepare for him.

If you then take into account Cam growing into a better pocket passer, one more willing to take the check down, you further decrease the physical beating he takes.  Cam showed last year he was willing to put the ball in CMC's hands, that's what many people have always wanted from him.  Take the layups!

There is no question in my mind that Cam has not really been himself the last two seasons.  There were encouraging reports from training camp.  Seeing some of those deep balls was great.  Seeing his more compact motion was great.  But like the Panthers organization, I want to see that happen on the field, for an entire season.  I want to see Cam be Cam again, but with a wiser mentality toward putting himself in harms way.

I believe he can do it.  I hope he does.  "Show me"

[mc52beast]

4 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

Let's see him beat Goff on the field Sunday before deciding if he can beat him at the bank.

 

He’s not playing against Goff, he’s playing against the Rams defense.

[Khyber53]

7 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

He’s not playing against Goff, he’s playing against the Rams defense.

Yeah, he is competing against Goff. You might have noticed that scoreboard thing and realized the correlation between the scores there and the activity of the QBs. Or maybe you haven't... this is the Huddle after all.

Just kiddin', man. I understand where you are coming from, but just like in baseball, it's always pitcher vs pitcher, QB vs QB that tells the tale.

[AceBoogie]

13 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

Let's see him beat Goff on the field Sunday before deciding if he can beat him at the bank.

 

It’s a team game. I’m sure he’d beat Goff head to head at anything. But they don’t block for themselves, catch their own passes, or play defense.