Sunday could very well mark the final game for Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton—for this franchise or any other one. So it’s only fair that he gets to see at least some action in Week 18, right?
Well, head coach Matt Rhule may give him that opportunity. Rhule, when asked on Wednesday if he’s open to using more players under center outside of Sam Darnold, said there’s definitely a possibility.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he stated in his post-practice presser. “We just got P.J. [Walker] back today from COVID. Cam, we have Cam ready. So what that looks like exactly, obviously we’ll kinda keep under wraps a little bit because the benefit of somebody having to prepare for two or three guys helps us. But, yeah, we would have no problem playing two guys.”
He’s certainly had no problem playing two guys over the past eight weeks. Rhule has used some sort of dual-quarterback combination between Newton, Darnold and Walker in five of the team’s last seven games. That, in part, has led to a 1-6 record.
During the 18-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 17, the Panthers trotted out Newton for a single snap—a rush which resulted in a 5-yard gain. Darnold took the 60 other plays, which resulted in 132 passing yards and a pair of turnovers.
We’ll see how having that “benefit,” as Rhule described it, helps them out against a 12-4 Bucs team jockeying for some additional home-field advantage in the upcoming postseason.
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