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Cam Newton is not yet ready to retire, but he returns to the free agency this off-season with an uncertain future.
Greg Olsen and Thomas Davis retired as Panthers on Thursday, and owner David Tepper said the team will bring Newton home “eventually”.
No matter how awkward Newton’s departure last year, the franchise has not forgotten its contributions as it continues its search for its long-term replacement.
“He deserves it,” said Olsen of Newton, through Darin Gantt on the team’s website. “If there’s a list of people who love Cam, care about him and appreciate him, I’m on top of it. I told you before, he’s the best thing that ever happened in my career. I don’t know if I have the career I had if not for the nine years I spent with him. He made me a better player. We liked each other as people. We are very different people and I think that’s what makes it so special and makes our connection so unique.
“When Cam’s day is over, I don’t know when it will be, how many years from now ,. . . when that day comes, if someone has already earned the right to have a day like today to recognize everything he gave to this organization, putting this organization on the national map, it was him, it was Luke Kuechly, they are the guys who transcended being good football players, they were football players for generations. He’s a guy who earned the right to be kicked out whenever the time comes. And there are a hundred other guys who played with him who feel what I feel for him. I hope that that day we can all be there and give him the goodbye he deserves. “
Newton made a career in Carolina, becoming the greatest defender in the team’s short history. He took the Panthers to a Super Bowl and won an MVP award.
The Panthers continue to look for their next defender in the franchise after failing to play at the MVP level in the position since the 2015 season.