You need your shoulder to pass and it was obvious that Cam was struggling with it late in the season.
The Panthers new owner didn’t pull any punches about his condition.
Asked to compare Newton’s situation with that of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, owner David Tepper said Tuesday, “If you told me he took a year off and could recover and be fully recovered and everything else, and that’s what it took, an extra year, why wouldn’t you do [that]?”
The organization has been in discussions with medical personnel on the best plan to strengthen the shoulder, whether that’s with rest or another surgery. A second surgery opens the possibility Newton could miss a season as Luck did in 2017 after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder.
“When you make a decision, this gets into business, or here … you want to keep your options open as much as possible,” Tepper said.
“Hopefully, Cam’s shoulder is fantastic, right? And we’re hunky dory, all fantastic,” Tepper said. “If it’s not, you may need more cap space. You may need to go out and find somebody. If you don’t, you guys are going to be writing what a dope we are here. Why did we make these other moves?
It will be interesting to see if the Panthers take a QB in the first couple of rounds of the draft.