It’s already been a long and somewhat painful offseason for Carolina Panthers fans, who have seen legendary linebacker Luke Kuechly retire and tight end Greg Olsen sign with the Seahawks. Uncertainty about the situation at quarterback has only made their anxiety worse. Well, we finally have some good news for those who believe Carolina still has a true franchise QB on the roster.
According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team is moving forward with Cam Newton as their starter. It will still be several months before he’s game-ready, but his foot injury is healing well.
A lot can happen is an understatement. This week there has been some smoke regarding rumors about Carolina potentially trading up to No. 1 overall in order to pick Heisman winner Joe Burrow.
However, sticking with Newton is the best decision that the team can make at this point. Pairing Burrow with Joe Brady again is an undeniably alluring proposition, but the Panthers simply have too many roster holes to fill right now to consider moving up in the draft.
They also don’t need Burrow because they already have a proven commodity in Cam. Remember, the last time Newton was truly healthy was in the first half of the 2018 season and he was playing at a high level, even matching some of his production from 2015 when he won league MVP.
Assuming his foot fully heals and his shoulder issues are behind him, Newton can still be an elite QB option. Now, the question will be if Marty Hurney and Matt Rhule can finally deliver on giving Newton the supporting cast he needs to fulfill his potential.
We haven’t heard any public commitment from the Panthers, but Rhule is speaking with the media later today at the combine, so perhaps we’ll finally hear it then. Stay tuned.
