SPARTANBURG, S.C. _ Jake Delhomme, who won five playoff games as the Carolina Panthers' starting quarterback from 2003-09 and remains one of the most popular players in team history, returns to the team this year as its primary radio analyst.
And as you'll see from some of what Delhomme said Wednesday about Cam Newton's arm strength, the Panthers' playoff chances and other topics, he won't be short on opinions.
The long-rumored move to the booth for Delhomme was made official by the Panthers on Wednesday. Delhomme, who lives with his family in Louisiana, plans to broadcast all eight of Carolina's regular-season home games in 2019. He will also work the road games in New Orleans and Houston.
Jordan Gross, the former Panthers offensive tackle who, like Delhomme, enters the team's Hall of Honor later this year, will be Carolina's game analyst for the remaining six games. He and Delhomme will work alongside Mick Mixon, who will broadcast games for his 15th consecutive season as the Panthers' radio play-by-play voice. Jim Szoke also returns for his 25th consecutive year as a color commentator in the radio booth.
Eugene Robinson, who was the team's game analyst for the previous 17 seasons, had earlier been relieved from those duties. But the Panthers also announced that Robinson will still contribute to the team's pregame and postgame shows.
Delhomme watched the Panthers' joint practices against Buffalo this week and later shared his thoughts on the team with a small group of reporters. Lightly edited excerpts from that conversation are below.
