Will Cam Newton be the Carolina Panthers quarterback in 2020?

Cam Newton is falling apart physically in his early 30s. With the former NFL MVP and Heisman Trophy winner be the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback in 2020?

It is not a great time to be a fan of the Carolina Panthers. They are 0-2 to start the year and are 1-9 in their last 10 games dating back to last football season. Carolina has not won a game with Cam Newton as its starting quarterback going on a year. Will Newton be the Panthers quarterback in 2020?

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided’s Matt Verderame and Josh Hill, along with former Panthers offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz talked about the harsh reality that it might be the end of the line for Carolina’s Superman (25:45).

We had a bit of disagreement regarding Newton’s long-term viability with the Panthers. While Verderame believes that Newton will be their starting quarterback in 2020, Schwartz thinks there is a really good chance that Newton might retire, given that he’s so beat up physically.

Verderame doesn’t think native Charlottean rookie quarterback Will Grier is the answer at quarterback for the Panthers should Newton’s health continue to be an issue. He mentions that when you think about the Panthers, the first three players that come to mind are Newton, running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Luke Kuechly. Newton is Carolina football.

As for Schwartz, he offered this, “I think the Panthers clean house if it doesn’t go well after this year.” He says that head coach Ron Rivera will find his next opportunity almost immediately if given the ax. Schwartz would expect if Rivera gets whacked, so will general manager Marty Hurney and Newton will be looking for a new place to call home, too.

As for where Newton’s new home could be, Schwartz believes that if Newton isn’t the Panthers quarterback next season, it will be because he has retired. He can’t see Newton playing for another organization, as he is very popular in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.

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Schwartz was on the Panthers for Newton’s rookie season out of Auburn, albeit on Injured Reserve. He doesn’t think a potential Rivera replacement will want to tie himself to Newton, who looks incredibly beat-up nine years into his NFL career. Perhaps he could go the Andrew Luck route and call it a career before he gets to 10 years in the league?

If this is the last year of the Rivera/Newton Panthers as we know it, look for new owner David Tepper to completely rehaul this entire franchise. Should that be the case, expect a new head coach, a new general and quite possibly a new franchise quarterback.

If Carolina is picking in the top 10 of the upcoming draft, maybe they can get their guy? Newton is a legend in Charlotte, but it could be time for Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm or somebody else we don’t know a lot about yet to take the Panthers drum and keep pounding.

Here are a few of the other topics discussed on Stacking the Box this week:

• Is starting Daniel Jones the right decision for the New York Giants? (0:55)
• Can Mason Rudolph lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the playoffs? (6:46)
• Will Antonio Brown be on the New England Patriots’ roster when the playoffs start? (22:15)
• Which of the winless teams has the best chance to make the playoffs? (35:08)

All this and more!

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