CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Goodbyes are never easy.
But for the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton, a breakup is _ and should be _ coming.
It pains me to say this, because Newton has entertained us all for nine years. But I think we've already seen the last two games of Newton's career with Carolina. They were the first two of this 2019 season, when he was a shadow of himself, playing on a bum foot in two home games that the Panthers lost.
That's not the right way to go out _ not for one of the best players in franchise history _ but football is cruel like that sometimes. So is life.
The Panthers placed Newton on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his 2019 season due to a foot injury that had already caused him to miss the team's last six games and now will assure he misses the next eight, too. He's still under contract with Carolina for the 2020 season, but that deal can and should be broken.
Newton will play in the NFL once again. He's only 30, he's still an elite athlete when healthy and players have come back from Lisfranc foot injuries plenty of times before. Don't bury Newton yet, because he's still going to produce some more great NFL highlights. They just won't be in Charlotte.
The Panthers aren't commenting about his long-term future because they want him to get his foot back to 100% before any long-term decision gets made. They aren't trying to make a call on their starting quarterback in September 2020 _ they are worried about playing at Green Bay on Sunday.
The problem is the money.
If Carolina keeps Newton next season, that will cost them $21.1 million in salary-cap terms in the final year of the quarterback's contract, according to Spotrac.
If the Panthers release Newton, he costs them only $2 million in "dead cap" money.
As much as the Panthers love Newton _ the only Carolina player to ever win the NFL Most Valuable Player award _ it's hard to justify paying more than 10% of your total salary cap (it was $188 million for NFL teams this season) to a quarterback who may or may not be ready to play an entire season in 2020. Saving the $19 million and spending it on other needs makes the most sense.
Could the Panthers avoid this financial quagmire for the short term? Yes, but only by offering Newton a contract extension (unless he took a significant pay cut on his own, which seems unlikely).
A new contract for Newton would allow the money to be spread out for several years. But is that the financially responsible thing for the Panthers to do?
Unless a very creative solution is found, it's not.
