CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ It's official. The Panthers have moved on from Cam Newton after nine years, officially releasing him Tuesday.
Newton had one year left on his contract and was owed $21.1 million. The team will suffer a salary cap hit of $2 million in dead money with the move.
"Cam has meant a lot to this organization and the Carolinas," general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement. "Everyone saw his performances on the field. I had the privilege of seeing how hard he worked off the field, and his commitment to this team when no one was watching. He's the ultimate competitor and it physically hurts him to lose. He willed this team to victory on many occasions and will always be considered one of the greatest players in the history of this franchise. His contributions to this team, this community and the game of football will leave a lasting impact on our organization."
The 30-year old expressed numerous times throughout the past several months that he desired to remain a Panther. Even as recently as late January, Newton publicly said he "absolutely" believed that he would be in Carolina in 2020. His desire to remain with the Panthers remained until the end, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
When the team decided it was going to move on from Newton, his agents requested to take command of searching for a trade partner, which the team agreed to, a league source said.
Shortly after the team announced last week that it gave Newton "permission" to seek a trade, Newton replied in a comment on Instagram telling Carolina to "stop with the word play. (I) never asked for it. ... Please do not try and play me, or manipulate the narrative and act like I wanted this; you forced me into this."
Later that day, the team, finalized a three-year deal to make Teddy Bridgewater their starting quarterback. It has also signed XFL quarterback, and former Temple player under Matt Rhule, P.J. Walker and traded last year's starter of 12 games, Kyle Allen, to Washington.
Teams were aware that Newton was likely to be available and recently the Panthers explored their trade options with multiple teams, including the Bears and Chargers, per national reports.
Bridgewater shared a picture on social media of him signing his contract Monday night. Later that evening, Newton posted an Instagram video saying, "I'm hungry. Hungrier. I'm unemployed."
The new coaching staff led by Rhule and team owner David Tepper never publicly expressed their full support for the quarterback staying in Carolina in 2020. It had been unclear if the team would stick with Newton after he has dealt with multiple injuries over the past couple years.
Newton's most recent health issue was a Lisfranc injury in his left foot. He played the first two games of the 2019 season after suffering the injury in the team's third preseason game vs. the Patriots. After that injury was worsened in the Panthers' second regular-season game vs. the Buccaneers, he and the team made the decision to rest in order to try and get back to full health. Newton was placed on injured reserve in November and had surgery in December. He missed more games in 2019 than he had in every other season of his career combined.
Prior to that, he had two shoulder surgeries in less than two years. His shoulder injury significantly impacted him during the second half of the 2018 season.
The restrictions to this year's free agency period, put in place due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, prohibits teams from hosting any players at their facility or traveling to visit players, which made it harder for teams to get sense of Newton's health. He has frequently posited videos and pictures of his workouts and efforts to get back to full health, but any potential trade was made more difficult due to the NFL's restrictions.
According to multiple reports, the Panthers helped facilitate a physical for the quarterback Tuesday in Atlanta, which he passed.
Newton spent nine years in Carolina after he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He was named league MVP in 2015, in addition to Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011 and is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been selected First Team All-Pro (2015).
He holds nearly every passing record in team history and will be remembered as one of the best Panthers players of all time.
