Here's the definitive post about where we stand with Cam Newton's future with the team

[Sam Mills Fan]

I personally have no inside sources, I'm merely cobbling together everything I've read today and yesterday on here, Twitter from folks that are at least sort of in-the-know, the Athletic, and from listening to experts on WFNZ and the Riot. There is a lot of conjecture and beating around the bush without coming right out and saying things, but here we go...

Cam: He's really sick of this mess. He's been mentally and physically worn down for a while. His injuries aren't recovering as quickly as they used to and it's been super frustrating to him. He signed a very team-friendly extension before the 2015 season and was hoping to effectively double his salary with his next extension, but injuries keep derailing that. He's been disappointed since the 2017 offseason that he and the team weren't able to work out an extension. And, worst of all, he's started to become a bit disgruntled with a lot of people in the front office and the medical staff. He's utilizing Panthers doctors and trainers much less in favor of his own folks because he's lost faith with people here, presumably Ryan Vermillion.

He pushed for the team to put him on IR because, while there's a chance his foot could heal in the next month to the point where he could play, he didn't want to be thrown back into the mix in December, look bad and rusty, and risk further injury and risk that poor play hampering his ability to sign a bigger deal with us or someone else in 2020. And yes, that means Cam is fully aware that it's possible he won't be a Panther next year and it wouldn't bother him if he wasn't.

Hurney/Rivera/Front Office: They haven't been so enamored with Cam on and off-the-field post-2015. There have been whispers that Cam could have been doing things over the past two seasons and offseasons that could have helped him recover faster from his shoulder and foot injuries that Cam hasn't done. Cam doing his own thing more and more has been a source of consternation, whether it be Cam's film crew or Cam's personal physical therapists. They didn't like how well Cam had been playing in games and during practices for a while too. That lack of trust and uncertainty led to Cam never getting that big pay raise you would have expected an MVP with a 17-2 season to get. And now they're in a gigantic bind: do they extend a guy that hasn't looked truly 100% healthy and right on the field since 2015 and give him the money he wants (a contract that would be nearly the biggest in NFL history) or do they cut ties with the best and one of the most popular Panthers in history? And, if they go the latter route, just who is the QB of the future for this team? And if Cam is open to not being a Panther next season, the front office is even more so. It's not a done deal that Cam won't be here next year, but there's an impasse between two sides that are frankly tired of the other.

Tepper: Tepper really has no ties to anyone and is frustrated with everyone involved: Cam *and* the front office. Tepper is just a couple of years away from asking taxpayers to help foot the bill for a massive new stadium and jettisoning Cam in favor of Kyle Allen or Will Grier or the 3rd or 4th best QBs in the 2020 or 2021 drafts isn't the way to build public support for something like that. (I haven't seen anyone definitively say whether the alternative, signing Cam to a big extension, is what Tepper would prefer though.) Tepper is also sick of being embarrassed in big nationally televised games and his trust in Rivera reached its nadir after the San Francisco game. (Hence why Rivera went back to his Riverboat ways, you can tell when Rivera has been chewed out by ownership when he goes full-board 100% Riverboat Ron in a game.) There's a better chance than not that if the Panthers miss the playoffs again, even with the team stuck with Kyle Allen at QB, that Rivera will be fired. Hurney probably too, although Hurney has always been in a better place with Tepper than Rivera.

Me: don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you the gist of what I've heard people say over the past 24 hours and can't guarantee you what is true and what isn't.

[HPPantherzfan]

This sounds all very logical.  Another question I think Cam would have to ask himself is, if Ron is gone does that play into what he is thinking in regards to the Panthers?  Would he want to start over with a coach that possibly isn't a "Players Coach".  I've said in another thread last week that something else was going on here, the time lines and rumors / reports weren't adding up.  Unfortunately it may be irreconcilable from both sides.

[Anybodyhome]

Good take. 

And, fwiw, I think every option is available to Tepper. He's had a year to assess and I think the entire organization is up for a massive overhaul. I also think both physical and financial challenges point to Cam being gone next year.

 

[1of10Charnatives]

Op, I’m picking on you good naturedly because I also tend towards verbosity and long windedness, but I challenge you to write a thread title that is six words or less.

[Moo Daeng]

Thanks for reposting what's been said all season and 600 times the last 2 days 

[hepcat]

Thanks for the analysis, good stuff. I would add one thing about Tepper, and this was reported by Jourdan Rodrigue during her Q&A on the Athletic, is he's fully aware of the sparse crowds this season and very concerned about it.

Quote

  think the sparse crowds are absolutely something to look at here - and a concern, too, for a new owner who needs to make his business more profitable to turn it into a true international brand and get the city to fork over the cash he wants for projects. Does that also include re-evaluating the fan experience and prices? Yep. Does it also help to have a transcendent player like Cam, who so many have drawn inspiration from? Also yep.

 

[Harbingers]

Pretty much what I’ve been assuming since Cam was taken out due to injury. 

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Thanks for the analysis, good stuff. I would add one thing about Tepper, and this was reported by Jourdan Rodrigue during her Q&A on the Athletic, is he's fully aware of the sparse crowds this season and very concerned about it.

It only helps to have a transcendent player if he's still transcendent.

Would anybody pay to see the version of Newton that we saw against the Bucs again?

[lightsout]

And this is what people have meant when they said this smells like more than just a foot injury. Cam hasn't been Cam for a long time and it has nothing to do with his physical health or play (though the health thing definitely effects his demeanor, obviously).

Team is in a rough spot. Cam is probably done here. I've all but accepted it and hoping that I am wrong and he returns next season to set the league on fire wearing black and blue.

[DeAngelo Beason]

I've been saying it for weeks, and I'll continue to say it.  Cam will not start for the Carolina Panthers at QB again.

The only exception may be if he's willing to take a huge paycut.

[KillaCamNewton]

43 minutes ago, HPPantherzfan said:

This sounds all very logical.  Another question I think Cam would have to ask himself is, if Ron is gone does that play into what he is thinking in regards to the Panthers?  Would he want to start over with a coach that possibly isn't a "Players Coach".  I've said in another thread last week that something else was going on here, the time lines and rumors / reports weren't adding up.  Unfortunately it may be irreconcilable from both sides.

i'm sure he would love to play for a coach thats a young innovative offensive mind that isnt going to run him into the ground more than he already has

[panthers55]

Not sure Cam has much leverage to do anything. If he holds out he gets traded to an AFC team who is likely a bottom feeder. If he stays on his 1 year deal he has to deliver and perform much better than he has since 2015. If we release him and we won't given he has trade value, then who gives him more than a 1 or 2 year deal?  Cam isn't filling seats so.much as winning fill seats no matter who is the QB. Sure it was great watching Cam but not so much if we were losing.  If we make the playoffs this year without Cam it won't be hard for Panther fans to move on from him.  Just like it was with Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers and Smitty before him.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, KillaCamNewton said:

i'm sure he would love to play for a coach thats a young innovative offensive mind that isnt going to run him into the ground more than he already has

Would he be willing to do it on a one-year contract though?

The vast majority of people agree it would be pretty unreasonable to ask the Panthers to extend Newton's current deal with all the questions surrounding his health. That's just way too big a gamble.

If you're looking at it from Newton's perspective though, are you okay with playing on what's essentially a one year "prove it" deal, or are you confident enough to bet on yourself that somebody else might be willing to offer more?

[panthers55]

5 minutes ago, KillaCamNewton said:

i'm sure he would love to play for a coach thats a young innovative offensive mind that isnt going to run him into the ground more than he already has

When he isn't running he is average at best. That is the problem, injuries have robbed him of what separated him from the average QB. Without it he is not worth a long contract unless he improved his accuracy a lot