Sunday Could be Cam Newton's Final Home Game as a Panther

Cam's second stint with the Panthers could be coming to an end.

About a month or so ago, the Carolina Panthers stunned everyone by meeting with and agreeing to a one-year contract with former face of the franchise, Cam Newton. The Panthers had been receiving very little production out of the quarterback spot from Sam Darnold and a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve.

At the time of Newton's signing, the Panthers were still very much in the thick of the playoff race and by adding Newton, many figured they would remain in the picture until the very end of the regular season. Unfortunately, the reunion hasn't worked out as both sides would have hoped. Newton has appeared in five games with the team but is 0-4 as the starter. The lone win came in his first game back where he served in a limited role behind P.J. Walker against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Newton will always be considered one of the greats in Carolina Panthers franchise history but he is certainly well past his prime. At age 32, Newton will become a free agent at the end of the season and if the two sides can't agree on a new contract in the offseason, this Sunday's game will be his last in Bank of America Stadium wearing a Panthers uniform. 

Two years in a row, head coach Matt Rhule has swung and missed at the most important position. Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold are not the long-term solutions at quarterback, nor is Cam Newton. However, should Carolina choose to select a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, bringing back Newton may not be a bad idea as it would allow the Panthers to slowly work in their young signal-caller. The only problem is this happens to be one of the worst groups of quarterbacks in a draft class in quite some time. Kenny Pickett (Pitt), Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Malik Willis (Liberty), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Carson Strong (Nevada), and Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati) are the top prospects in the class but none of them really pop off the page as "the guy".

With the weak QB class, I believe the Panthers will use their first round pick on a left tackle considering that is just as big of a need as quarterback is. Quite frankly, you could argue it is their top need. Over the last eight years, the Panthers have had eight different players start for them at left tackle which needless to say is not ideal. In order for any quarterback to shine in this offense, especially a young guy, you can't have inept offensive line play. Assuming that they elect to target a lineman with their first round selection, this could open up the door for Carolina to pursue a veteran quarterback or dare I say, ride with Darnold next year? Darnold is due $18 million in 2022 thanks to GM Scott Fitterer picking up the fifth year option before ever taking a snap in Carolina. They have to either play him or trade him away and likely eat the majority of the $18 million salary. If this is the route they decide to take, you can bet that Cam Newton will not be back with Carolina in 2022. 

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