Why the Panthers replacing Cam Newton with Teddy Bridgewater works for their future

Cam Newton posted a video on Instagram three weeks ago that caught everyone’s attention.

“All I want is a little commitment,” Newton said while working out, “and you can’t give me that?”

There’s no direct evidence in the video that Newton is referring to the Panthers, but later that day, coach Matt Rhule held a news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in which he said he was “excited” to coach the team’s franchise quarterback. But it was another opportunity for the Panthers to show their full support for Newton going forward. And they didn’t take it

Fast forward to Tuesday morning and Carolina showed just how much commitment it had to its franchise quarterback of nine seasons, announcing that it would allow the him and his agents to seek a trade.

Less than two hours later, the Observer confirmed the Panthers were finalizing a deal to make Teddy Bridgewater their new starting quarterback, officially ending the Cam Newton era in Carolina. Owner David Tepper wished him “the best.” The team’s Twitter account thanked him for his time.

It happened abruptly. A quick end despite Newton spending significant time at the team’s facility, meeting with Rhule and Tepper, team sources have said, and reaffirming his desire over the past several months to remain in Carolina. The quarterback was left explaining himself on Instagram, just like tight end Greg Olsen after he was released in January, indicating things weren’t as much his choice as the team portrayed it.

But this ending could be seen coming for months. Not only the financial sense it makes (the Panthers save $19 million in salary-cap space if they release Newton), but — again — the organizations clear lack of commitment to him. The new coaching staff has no connection to Newton. The team may not have been sold at the combine on moving on from him publicly, but Carolina was open to “explore any and all options,” as Rhule said last month.

Newton was entering the last year of his deal. Re-signing him to a new deal as every other veteran Panther — Luke Kuechly, Olsen, Mario Addison — walked out the door, along with head coach Ron Rivera in early December, didn’t fit.

It has been a clean slate for the 2020 Panthers, a time to start over and, despite appearances, move on from the quarterback that has been limited due to injuries over the last year and a half, playing in just two of the team’s last 18 games.

Which is where Bridgewater comes in. The Panthers needed someone at quarterback who is already familiar with the offense new coordinator Joe Brady will run. Bridgewater and Brady worked together with the Saints in 2018.

The recent news of the offseason programs around the NFL being delayed only reinforces why bringing in someone knowledgeable of the offense makes sense. The team might have limited time to learn it, but Bridgewater will be ready (and has plenty of knowledge about the NFC South).

With a three-year contract, reportedly worth about $60 million, in the works, all options will be open to Carolina with Bridgewater. Rebuilding, not rebuilding or somewhere in between, the former first-round pick (No. 32 overall by Minnesota in 2014) gives them options going forward.

The Panthers’ splashiest move of the offseason was likely hiring Brady because of the impact he will now cause. Why pay top money for a “top-notch” 30-year-old offensive mind if you’re not going to tailor things his way? Give him pieces that fit his scheme. Trading up in this year’s draft for Brady’s quarterback during his year at LSU, Joe Burrow, wasn’t realistic, which makes Bridgewater a good second option.

He also brings to the table a veteran presence on an offense that will have a lot of new faces. Bridgewater showed what he was capable of during a five-game stretch over the 2019 season when Drew Brees was injured, leading the Saints to a 5-0 record and giving the quarterback the second chance he was looking for with another NFL team. In Carolina, he can be “the guy.” He’s getting his chance to be the starter once again in an offense he knows he can thrive in.

This won’t prohibit the team from drafting a quarterback if the opportunity presents itself in the next couple of years. Who better to have teaching and guiding a young quarterback of the future than a player who is comfortable in the system and has seen the good and bad sides of the NFL.

Bridgewater, like Newton, has received an outpouring of support from Saints teammates congratulating him on his new opportunity to lead a team. It’s clear from his time in New Orleans that despite being a backup, he quickly made an impact on the organization and city. Someone who can be the face of this new rebuild. Plus, he’s just 27. If things go well, he could be in Carolina for some time.

There are a lot of ways to look at Tuesday, the day the Panthers practically added their quarterback of the future before the one even walked out the door. Newton will get another opportunity elsewhere.

Even if the moves weren’t handled in the best possible way — and it was inevitable Newton’s relationship with the Panthers would come to a bitter end — the move for Bridgewater to be the future fits the officially clean slate in Carolina.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:31 PM.