The Panthers haven’t committed to Cam Newton as their starter, despite what you heard
There are a lot of people who are trying to get information from Matt Rhule.
That list includes Bryant Rhule, Matt’s son, who kept calling him to ask the same questions that everyone wants to know.
What’s going on with Cam Newton? Will he starting for the Panthers in 2020?
Unfortunately for Bryant, and everyone else, there is still not a clear answer — no matter what you think you’ve heard in the past 24 hours.
Tuesday at the NFL Combine, Rhule made his first public comments since his introductory press conference. He expressed a desire to work with Newton and said that he wants him on the roster. His comments have been by far the most positive from the organization toward their franchise quarterback this offseason. Only Newton’s own feelings toward the situation, saying he “absolutely” expected to be in a Panthers uniform in 2020, surpassed Rhule’s comments in the confidence toward his future in Carolina.
But there was still no firm commitment from the Panthers new head coach. Rhule first declined to say that Newton would likely be the starter to begin the 2020 season, citing a desire to not name a starter for any position of the roster and hoping instead to create a “culture of competition.”
“I want to create a culture where nothing’s promised to anybody. I think in years two and three, maybe it’ll be a little bit different. But that being said, I don’t think that has anything to do with Cam. That just has to do with overall philosophy,” Rhule said. “When it comes to Cam, Cam’s a special player. So really the only thing that really matters right now is getting him healthy. But I want to say I’m excited to have him here and I want him to be here. I want to coach him. I just have to make sure that the coaching part of it is to make sure he’s healthy.”
Wanting to coach Newton isn’t exactly a revolutionary. He’s a former MVP, a quarterback who, when healthy, has shown himself to be “one of the best of the best,” according to Rhule. But that idea of needing to be healthy has come up since team owner David Tepper met with the local media in November.
A “healthy” Cam Newton has been the key phrase for four months. Tuesday’s press conference was no different.
“Really, the only thing that really matters right now is getting him healthy,” Rhule said. “But I want to say I’m excited to have him here and I want him to be here. I want to coach him. I just have to make sure that the coaching part of it is to make sure he’s healthy.”
After having surgery on his left foot in the second week of December, Newton’s timeline for returning to health was about midway through March — around the start of the league year on the 18th, making it more difficult to trade the quarterback. An unhealthy Newton isn’t something that teams want to trade a lot of capital for.
There have been plenty of reports about Newton’s future. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported in January that his understanding was the Panthers would trade Newton when he becomes healthy. Tuesday, Rapoport tweeted that the Panthers were moving forward with Newton as their starting quarterback for 2020 — albeit, with some caveats.
The truth is, no final decision has been made in reference to Newton’s future. Not much has changed. Otherwise the Panthers would have taken a more assertive stance either way.
What we know about the Panthers and Newton is that we don’t know, and we won’t until his health is fully evaluated.
We know that Newton wants to play in Carolina, we know that Rhule would like to coach him and we know that Rhule didn’t rule out the idea of drafting a quarterback in the first round, saying “we’re going to look at the absolute best fit at everything.”
But there have been no comments saying ‘yes, if Newton is healthy, he’s our guy Week 1.’ Desires have been expressed. Rhule even took the time to praise Newton’s rehab, point out how good of a father he is and his charity work which impacts so many.
It’s February and a brand new coaching staff has recently entered the building. It seems likely that we may not get concrete answers to Newton’s future for some time.
And that’s why it’s important to remember that Rhule only said he would like to coach him in 2020. On Dec. 31, 2019, Rhule said he planned to return to Baylor and that he “certainly” thought he would be.
It would be nice to wrap a bow around the Newton situation, but that just hasn’t happened quite yet.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 6:44 PM.
