Panthers owner David Tepper sheds light on Cam Newton’s future in Carolina

Panthers owner David Tepper is open to Cam Newton staying in Charlotte next season.

Tepper spoke to local media Monday and said that no decision has been made regarding Newton’s future or if he’d have surgery. He did say that if healthy, he hoped the quarterback would stay in Charlotte and that it would be good for both sides, but that there may be other options.

Newton was placed on injured reserve two weeks ago with a Lisfranc injury to his left foot. He had not played since the Panthers’ Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 12.

Much speculation had been made of whether it made sense to put Newton on IR with there being a potential that he could return this year.

Tepper said that even if Newton could have returned to the field this season, the move wouldn’t have made sense. He indicated that if the team was not performing well, he didn’t want to have Newton come in to play those games, and that even if the team was on the brink of the playoffs, it wouldn’t make sense to change course and go with a different quarterback at that time.

Another question that has been continually brought up about the quarterback situation is whether the Panthers and Newton’s camp have been on the same page. Tepper asserted that the decision was made in a way that was beneficial for all parties.

Newton initially injured his foot in August during Carolina’s third preseason game against the New England Patriots. But he returned to the field about two weeks later for the season-opener vs. the Los Angeles Rams.

While the future of Ron Rivera and Marty Hurney were not specifically discussed, Tepper did say that Newton’s injury would have to be included in any evaluation of the team.

Kyle Allen has gone 5-3 as the starter this season in Newton’s place and the Panthers’ owner said that he is overall pleased with his production. Newton has not addressed the media since he was placed on IR.

Throughout the meeting with reporters, Tepper brought up the fact that a good quarterback is one of the most crucial pieces to having a winning football team and how important that was to him. He even called Newton one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

Other notes from Tepper’s conversation:

• Reporters were requested to not ask about the future of general manager Marty Hurney and coach Ron Rivera. The meeting was not unprecedented, Tepper also met with reporters following the end of the 2019 season.
• Tepper said that he wants to stay in Charlotte for the long-term. In terms of stadium and attendance, the Panthers owner did mention that mobile ticketing has been somewhat of a problem throughout the NFL and that they are continuing to work on that. But he does not feel that there is a reason to reduce the capacity of the stadium. He would like to see a new stadium built in Charlotte at some point, and that it would be good to find a way to provide different viewing options in the stadium, including for people to stand and move around more during games.
• In addition to saying positive things about Allen, Tepper mentioned that he thought the team’s game management has improved, but noted that does not win football games.
• The Panthers have not made a decision on where training camp will be held in 2020. The team is expected to inform Wofford College, where training camp has been held since the team’s inception, in February if they will be holding camp there once again. A strong option for training camp, if it is not held in Spartanburg, would be at the Panthers’ facility. Much of that would be based on the presence of the indoor bubble in Charlotte. Practicing without the indoor space, he noted, is a competitive disadvantage.
• The team is currently building its new training facility in Rock Hill. The expectation is still that it will be open for training camp in August 2022.
• Tepper spoke heavily on the fact that long-term mediocrity was not an option for the Panthers, even mentioning that the loss to the Falcons woke him up twice the night after the game. He said while winning may not happen overnight, it was certainly what is most important. The owner said that the team isn’t going to be waiting forever to start winning and that it is the priority.
• As far as why the Panthers did not send a representative to free agent Colin Kaepernick’s workout, Tepper said that the Panthers did not need to bring in a veteran quarterback and that the team has the video. He said that bringing in a veteran quarterback did not make sense for the team at this time, but mentioned that he watched a portion of the workout on his phone.

This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Panthers owner David Tepper sheds light on Cam Newton’s future in Carolina."