Cam Newton says he never asked the Panthers for a trade. ‘Stop with the word play.’
The Carolina Panthers have given quarterback Cam Newton’s agent permission to seek a trade.
Newton has one year left on his contract and is owed $21.1 million.
“One of the distinct pleasures of my career was selecting Cam with the first pick in the 2011 draft,” general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement about the decision. “Every year difficult decisions are made and they are never easy. We have been working with Cam and his agent to find the best fit for him moving forward and he will always be a Carolina Panther in our hearts.”
The 30-year old expressed numerous times throughout the past several months that he desired to remain a Panther. Even as recently as late January, Newton said he “absolutely” believed that he would be in Carolina in 2020. That sentiment appears unchanged.
Shortly after the Panthers posted on Instagram on Tuesday morning that they’d given their franchise quarterback permission to seek a trade, Newton replied in a comment telling Carolina to “stop with the word play. (I) never asked for it. ... Please do not try and play me, or manipulate the narrative and act like I wanted this; you forced me into this.”
The new coaching staff led by Matt Rhule and team owner David Tepper never publicly expressed their full support for the quarterback starting in Carolina in 2020. It had been unclear if the team would stick with Newton after he has dealt with multiple injuries over the past couple years.
Newton’s most recent health issue was a Lisfranc injury in his left foot. He played the first two games of the 2019 season after suffering the injury in the team’s third preseason game vs. the Patriots. After it was worsened in the Panthers’ second regular-season game vs. the Buccaneers, he and the team made the decision to rest in order to try and get back to full health. Newton was then placed on injured reserve in November and had surgery in December. He missed more games in 2019 than he had in every other season of his career combined.
Prior to that, he had two shoulder surgeries in less than two years. His shoulder injury significantly impacted him during the second half of the 2018 season.
Newton spent nine years in Carolina after he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He was named league MVP in 2015, in addition to Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011 and is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been selected to First Team All-Pro (2015).
He holds nearly every passing record in team history and will be remembered as one of the best Panthers players of all-time, despite many questioning the decision to take him first overall.
Newton will be remembered for many reasons in the Charlotte community, including for the significant time and money he gives annually to support a variety of areas in need, including through his annual Santa Cam and Thanksgiving Jam events.
The only other quarterbacks currently on the Panthers roster are Kyle Allen and Will Grier.
This story is developing and will be updated.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 11:04 AM.
