CHARLOTTE, NC — The Carolina Panthers haven’t ruled out signing quarterback Cam Newton, but the 2015 NFL MVP is evaluating other options.
“I have teams that are interested in signing me,” Newton said in a text to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I’m waiting for the best solution to win a championship and play a fair chance.”
Newton led the Panthers to an NFL-best 15-1 regular season record and a Super Bowl appearance in 2015. Since then, he has gone 30-36 as a starter, 13-23 in the last four seasons after and foot injuries reduced its effectiveness.
He went 7-8 as a starter in New England in 2020 after Carolina released the three-time Pro Bowl selection ahead of Matt Rhule’s first season as head coach.
The Panthers re-signed Newton late last season after starter Sam Darnold went on injured reserve. He went 0-5 as a starter and was replaced by Darnold in the final game.
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Rhule has been in contact with Newton since the end of the season.
“I love Cam Newton,” Rhule said Tuesday at the NFL Owners’ Meeting in South Florida. “He’s an amazing leader. He’s a fantastic soccer player. Everything we do has to be right for the organization, right for him.”
It’s still unclear if Newton, who turns 33 in May, wants to return to a Carolina team that went 10-23 in Rhule’s first two seasons and hasn’t had a winning record since 2018.
“It’s not just us saying, ‘Hey, Cam, come back,'” general manager Scott Fitterer said last week. “He must want to come back. He has to like the role, the situation. It really just suits the two of us.
“The door is open. I’d like someone with his leadership, his toughness. He brought so much to his team last year and stabilized us at a really difficult time. He’s a really special person.”
While leaving the door open for Newton to fight for a starting spot, Fitterer and Rhule are focused on getting Darnold to improve on his 4-7 record from last season. Fitterer said last week that the No. 3 draft pick of 2018 is now the leader for the job.
Rhule said Tuesday he expects Darnold to show “significant improvement” this season.
Rhule and Fitterer said the Panthers wanted to add another quarterback to the roster alongside Darnold and PJ Walker. They haven’t ruled out signing one in free hand, trading against one, or using the draft’s sixth pick on one.
They spent the last week at the pro days of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis and Mississippi’s Matt Corral. While draft analysts have dubbed this a weak quarterback class, Rhule believes “one of these quarterbacks is going to be a top 10 pick.”
Rhule also made it clear that Carolina isn’t “locked in” on a quarterback for the sixth pick, although Fitterer says the best way to build a team is with a young quarterback simply because it’s more cost-effective.
Newton would not be a long-term solution, and he would have to see how close Carolina is to becoming a playoff and championship contender. In the meantime, he’s spending the off-season exploring his options and focusing on new business opportunities.
Overtime, which launched the Overtime Elite basketball league last year, is collaborating with Newton on a new 7v7 football league called OT7.
“The door is still open to us,” Fitterer said. “We are very open with Cam. He knows where we stand. We’ll see where it goes.”