From Peter King's Football Morning in America column today

[PanthersATL]

Of the 149 games played in this NFL season, I would wager not a single one has said more, about more significant things, than Green Bay 17, Seattle 0 in a Wisconsin snow squall Sunday, the first wintry day of the season. 

Sigh

He wrote more words about a game where the QB didn't play than he did about a game where an entire team made a statement when a QB came back.

at least he did write more than a paragraph about us this week (which is about a paragraph+ more than he usually spends on the Panthers):

An 8-game sprint with Cam Newton?

That certainly was cool, Cam Newton running for a touchdown on his first snap as a second-time Panther, and passing for a touchdown on his second snap. His role, Matt Rhule told me, wasn’t established till Sunday morning at the hotel in Arizona, when coaches asked him if he felt he could execute the few plays he’s practiced late in the week. “I sure can,” Newton said. Said Rhule: “Credit to Cam. That pass play, for you football historians, is sprint right option—that’s the Dwight Clark catch from Joe Montana in the NFC Championship Game.”

P.J. Walker won his second start as a Panther, the 34-10 rout of Arizona. Maybe that gives Rhule cause to think he should keep using Newton as a relief pitcher for the time being, continuing with next week’s home game against Washington. We’ll see, but I doubt it. “Honestly,” said Rhule, “I am gonna go pass out on the plane. We’ll get Cam in on Monday, keep showing him new plays, we’ll see how much he is ready to play. I’m not to that point in my brain that I can make a decision like that.”

Rhule also said the Newton signing “is just about today—just about this year. We wanted to do what we could to win this game, then win the next one. We’ll worry about next year next year.”

[PanthersATL]

Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling...

He did write a bunch about our QB situation and the $$ involved.  Nothing we haven't already rehashed here, but it's more in-depth if you're interested.

[PanthersATL]

if the Panthers do trade for an established starter, it would leave them without first-round, second-round and fourth-round picks in 2022. That would mean Carolina would have one pick in (approximately) the top 150 of next year’s draft, and that pick would be midway through the third round, about 80th overall.

[bigdog10]

Peter King was adamantly against the Cam signing on Florios podcast. Not so much regarding Cam himself but rather how bad the staff botched the entire QB situation for two years. 
 

Needless to say, it’s gonna take a few more weeks like yesterday for him to swallow his pride and get on board. 

[Khyber53]

Yeah, there are some big, big, big ramifications here at the QB position, both now and the immediate future. Personally I'd like for us to spend more time on answering the Cam capability question for next year rather than chasing the ghost of Watson in Houston.

Walker did better than expected, but everyone was up for that game across the board. Let's see how it winds out next week with Washington. 

[LinvilleGorge]

I just don't pay much attention to people who have honestly never really accomplished anything in their lives. You talk about and critique other people's accomplishments for a living. Without them you're nothing. Sorry, not impressed.

[Toomers]

   He had a lot to say about the QB situation….

 

 

On the subject of the Carolina quarterback situation:

The Panthers have acquired three quarterbacks in the last 20 months to replace Cam Newton, and it’s likely they will seek another one in the draft or trade or free-agent market in 2022.

That’s a historic bit of quarterback-investing. The costly rundown:

March 2020: Carolina cuts Cam Newton and signs Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year contract.
April 2020: After releasing Bridgewater, Carolina trades for Sam Darnold.
November 2021: After the failure of Darnold, and Darnold breaking his shoulder, Carolina signs Newton.

Cost Paid By Carolina

The breakdown of costs, according to Over The Cap, projecting 2021 compensation for Newton and including $18.8 million in guaranteed salary owed to Darnold in 2022:

Bridgewater: $31,015,625
Darnold: $23,632,685
Newton: $6,000,000
Total: $60,648,310

By the way, $4.5-million guaranteed for Cam Newton? Why? Where was the competition for Newton? In 2020, when Newton was a free agent and not tarnished nearly to the point he is now, New England paid him $3.75 million for a full season. Now the Panthers pay him at least $4.5 million for a half-season, and as much as $6 million.

Traded By Carolina

To acquire Darnold, Carolina traded a sixth-round pick in 2021 and second-round and fourth-round picks in 2022.

The sixth-round pick was traded by the Jets in a package to Kansas City and used to pick starting guard Trey Smith, one of the bright spots of day three of the ’21 draft.

The two 2022 picks sacrificed in the Darnold deal figure—based on today’s standings—to be around 48th and 114th overall. Those are the picks that Carolina will be missing next April.

The Future For Carolina

I think it’s great the Panthers full-circled Cam Newton back to the team he brought to the Super Bowl six years ago. The end for him and the franchise was messy, and this is the opportunity to give Newton the chance to win back the job he’ll always feel was taken from him. Good luck to him; he’s an electric player, potentially, and maybe he’ll rekindle what he once was in the next two months.

But I doubt the Panthers, deep down, view Newton as more than a stop-gap, and I doubt after what they’ve seen they view a healthy Darnold as the man they want as QB1 next August. I think it’s most likely the Panthers go to market for their next quarterback.

If the Panthers trade for Deshaun Watson next March, it will cost at least three first-round picks. If they trade for another high-profile quarterback, such as Aaron Rodgers, it would very likely involve the first-round pick in 2022. So if the Panthers do trade for an established starter, it would leave them without first-round, second-round and fourth-round picks in 2022. That would mean Carolina would have one pick in (approximately) the top 150 of next year’s draft, and that pick would be midway through the third round, about 80th overall.

Let’s say Carolina acquires Watson, and it costs three first-round picks, a second-rounder, and a proven veteran—say, defensive tackle Derrick Brown or wideout D.J. Moore. If a trade similar to that would happen, Carolina, to find its long-term quarterback, would have paid four first-round picks (Brown and Moore both were first-rounders), two second-round picks, a fourth and a sixth, plus $54.6 million that it cost for the Bridgewater and Darnold experiments. I bet in NFL history, finding a franchise quarterback never cost that much in total.

The Bottom Line

Carolina has committed $60.6 million for quarterback play in 2020 and ’21 (including money owed to Darnold, unlikely to be the starter in 2022), employed the 21st-rated passer in the league in ’20 and 29th-rated passer in ’21, and is 9-16 in those two seasons. Wrong on Bridgewater, wrong on Darnold, we’ll see on a tarnished Newton. Barring Newton turning back the clock six years, the team will likely not have the quarterback of the long-term future on the roster when the 2022 offseason begins.

Per Forbes, Panthers owner David Tepper is the 142nd-richest man in the world, with a net worth of about $15.8 billion. He doesn’t have to spend it all looking for a quarterback.

 

[rippadonn]

Stop it Peter. Tom Brady, Drew Brees played way past 32yrs old and so can Cam Newton.

The arm is there. He trucked another CB last night. Ace Boogie is back! The Panthers can build the team elsewhere now.

Don't worry about QB. Stop it.

[BrianS]

King had a lot to say, but he baked those numbers to be pretty misleading.

Between TB5 and Darnold, our 2020 and 2021 outlay at QB is actually 42 million, or 21 per season.  If he wanted to make a point, he should have said we've already committed 18 million next year to a guy who won't start (Darnold).

King isn't much of a Cam fan.  That's fine.  It's a legit perspective.  Cam hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2015.  He's not ever going to be 2015 again.  He hasn't looked good in a long, long time.

That doesn't in any way invalidate the fact that Cam is likely the best QB on our team right now.  It doesn't mean he can't be a successful starter.  If we can just coach him without being afraid of him, I think it's possible Cam can give us a few years as a good starter, but an even better motivator and leader. 

It all depends on his health.

[NorthTryon]

11 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

Stop it Peter. Tom Brady, Drew Brees played way past 32yrs old and so can Cam Newton.

The arm is there. He trucked another CB last night. Ace Boogie is back! The Panthers can build the team elsewhere now.

Don't worry about QB. Stop it.

Well my thing is when Rhule was inked, all I kept hearing was how he was going to bring this revolutionary, next level, and otherworldly rehabilitation program of which Tepper was going to bankroll. My thought was well why wouldn't you want to try out this program on one of the most genetically gifted humans on the planet. I seen Drew Brees shoulder in the middle of his back next to his spine his last game as a Charger. He then went on to have a new career in New Orleans and lasted a decade or more longer. But Cam was and is completely done according to everybody. I haven't heard anything else about it since. And maybe it will be encompassed in the new facility, but the team still has state of the art facilities in Bank of America.

[pantherclaw]

Since when is it okay to post ANY part of any article without providing the link?

 

[Toomers]

11 minutes ago, BrianS said:

King had a lot to say, but he baked those numbers to be pretty misleading.

Between TB5 and Darnold, our 2020 and 2021 outlay at QB is actually 42 million, or 21 per season.  If he wanted to make a point, he should have said we've already committed 18 million next year to a guy who won't start (Darnold).

King isn't much of a Cam fan.  That's fine.  It's a legit perspective.  Cam hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2015.  He's not ever going to be 2015 again.  He hasn't looked good in a long, long time.

That doesn't in any way invalidate the fact that Cam is likely the best QB on our team right now.  It doesn't mean he can't be a successful starter.  If we can just coach him without being afraid of him, I think it's possible Cam can give us a few years as a good starter, but an even better motivator and leader. 

It all depends on his health.

How are they baked? That’s exactly what they have spent, and are still committed to. And still don’t have a 2022 QB signed. 60M for a below average year, an awful half season, and a guy who was on the couch as the hope for the future. 

[rippadonn]

1 minute ago, NorthTryon said:

Well my thing is when Rhule was inked, all I kept hearing was how he was going to bring this revolutionary, next level, and otherworldly rehabilitation program of which Tepper was going to bankroll. My thought was well why wouldn't you want to try out this program on one of the most genetically gifted humans on the planet. I seen Drew Brees shoulder in the middle of his back next to his spine his last game as a Charger. He then went on to have a new career in New Orleans and lasted a decade or more longer. But Cam was and is completely done according to everybody. I haven't heard anything else about it since. And maybe it will be encompassed in the new facility, but the team still has state of the art facilities in Bank of America.

Tepper is smart enough to know that this is lightning in a bottle.

[rippadonn]

Just now, rippadonn said:

Tepper is smart enough to know that this is lightning in a bottle.

Excuse me, Dr Tepper and Cams break heart band.