In a move that has been expected since Monday night, and called for by fans and pundits earlier than that, the Panthers have reportedly decided to shut down Cam Newton for the rest of the season; a source confirmed today that third-year quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who played in one game in 2017 for the Houston Texans and has taken three meaningful snaps in 2018 for the Panthers, will get the nod as Carolina faces off with the Atlanta Falcons in the team’s home finale on Sunday as Newton is inactive – but Ron Rivera wouldn’t confirm the same for Week 17.
Monday night against the Saints saw the Panthers final playoff hopes – as slim as they were – fade to less than 1% as Newton struggled to complete passes in a 12-9 loss that saw Newton falter his way to his lowest completion percentage, quarterback rating and touchdown totals of the season.
It was clear that Newton, who has had trouble completing downfield passes for the past two seasons since having shoulder surgery in March of 2017, was having issues as the weeks in 2018 wore on. Newton had not thrown during practice on a Wednesday or Thursday since Week 7 and has battled ongoing shoulder soreness for the brunt of the season – while he was able to continue playing, his interception total went up as the Panthers continued to lose – Newton had four interceptions over the first eight games of the season and nine over the past six.
Even with the shoulder soreness, if he doesn’t return, the quarterback will finish 2018 with a 67.9% completion percentage, by far his career high, under the watchful eye of new offensive coordinator Norv Turner – Turner said that one of his emphases before the season began was Newton’s footwork and ensuring the ball came out quickly. That precision timing became harder to uphold as Newton missed more and more practice time.
The Panthers had averaged 27.5 points during their 6-2 start and 18.8 during their six-game skid.
“I would say from what I know and what I’ve seen, this is a tough one for him – a tough pill to swallow, and knowing him, he’s put a lot of responsibility on himself,” Ron Rivera said Tuesday. “We’ll get an opportunity to visit and talk and get a chance to see where he is mentally and hopefully, he’ll be able to get past this one quickly.”
“Tough game, tough stretch, tough season. It all kind of blends together.”
While the Panthers have committed to having Newton inactive for this week’s home finale at Atlanta, Rivera left the door open for Newton’s return, saying that the quarterback would remain on the 53-man roster and that “crazier things have happened.”
Crazy things like the 1% chance of the Panthers going to the playoffs increasing to about 10% with victories from the Panthers, Texans and Lions on Sunday. Rivera wouldn’t comment on whether or not this decision was made with an eye to the future, and the 56-year old head coach whose seat is likely quite warm after a six-game losing streak was resolute in his summation that this move was being made for Week 16 against Atlanta and that they would see what happens after that.
“That’s not a discussion for me to have with you guys, that’s really between the player and the doctors and the trainers and all that stuff,” said Rivera. “We’ll do everything we do as far as the team is concerned. We’ll always talk and listen to what’s going on, but right now, we’re not at that point.”
“We’re at the point where this is the best thing for the short term and we’ll see what happens.”
We certainly will.
