Carolina Fumbled the Cam Newton Situation

The Panthers completely mishandled moving on from the face of the franchise

It's been a crazy week in Charlotte and it is only Tuesday. Just moments ago, the Carolina Panthers released franchise quarterback Cam Newton, per Adam Schefter.

Last week the drama reached new heights when the Panthers announced that it would give permission to Newton and his agency to seek a trade, however that is not what Newton had asked for. He responded to the team's announcement on Instagram saying, "I never asked for this" and "this was forced." 

This is where it all went wrong.

I'm not saying that the Panthers would have been able to find a trade partner had they not made that announcement, but they sure as heck did not make it easier. It made the organization look bad when they tried to make it seem as if Newton was healthy and they were just ready to move on. When Newton exposed the truth, it essentially wiped out any chance of a trade. Who is going to believe Carolina when they tell other organizations that Newton is fully healthy after that debacle? Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are unable to meet with players in-person, which really hurts free agents, like Newton.

According to Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network, the Panthers tried to make a deal with the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Chargers, both of which were unwilling to agree on. The Chargers have said they are going to move forward with Tyrod Taylor as the starter (that sounds familiar) and the Bears just made a trade with the Jaguars for Nick Foles. As mentioned by our own Jack Duffy, Cam Newton's market is dwindling down by the minute. So now, the Panthers have to settle with releasing him and eating up $2 million in dead money - a category they already lead the league in.

Who would have ever thought that Kyle Allen would have more trade value than Cam Newton? Well, it has now become reality. The Panthers got a fifth-round pick for Allen, while Newton had no takers. Carolina will now get absolutely nothing in return for their face of the franchise and actually, it cost them to move in a different direction. This will certainly go down as one of the biggest front office blunders of recent memory. 

What are your thoughts on how the Panthers handled this situation? Let us know how you feel in the comment section below!

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