Panthers fire GM

[BigBanger]

Originally Posted by Cigaro

Your post was pretty reasonable up until those last two sentences.

Why would we ever trade our franchise quarterback after only two years? A franchise quarterback who has all the tools to be one of the premier players in the entire league? You can't succeed without good quarterback play, and you're suggesting giving away one of the few good, young players we have at the most important position on the field. All that we would be doing is trading one franchise quarterback who we know what we can expect from and somehow acquiring another franchise quarterback who we have no idea what to expect from him. He doesn't have a monster deal, he's shown great potential, there is simply no reason to get rid of him. This team needs to be built around Cam Newton, not built without Cam Newton.

I'm not saying you do or don't trade Cam Newton. But if a new GM comes into this team, I think he should lay all his options out on the table. You never know what a team would be willing to give up for Cam Newton. If there is an offer on the table that you can't turn down, then I think you would almost have to make the trade. Newton has a lot of positives. He is young with unlimited physical ability. When you consider his stardom on top of that... he's also going to sell you tickets / merchandise and bring in more revenue for the franchise. He's not a player with just on field ability, but he also help your income despite the upcoming contract (and there is no telling how much he will be asking from the Panthers front office). An NFL team might be willing to give up just about anything for him.

You don't win without a QB in this league, but you also don't win with just a QB. As good as Newton is, and he is good despite everyone's opinion that he's having a slump, he's not good enough to single handedly win games. This team is hardly any different now than what they were the year before they acquired the #1 pick in the draft. Are they better? Yeah, because they have Cam Newton. He gives you hope of winning games. But the first thing a team like the Panthers should be looking to do is adding talent.

I applauded what the Rams did last year through the draft. Jeff Fisher is a master at adding talented players through the draft. He's proven to do it over and over. That's the same kind of approach you need to take. You need to look at your young talent and attempt to keep that talent there. Cam Newton is apart of that group. But if you can trade away a prize commodity and gain multiple first round and second round draft picks for the next few years... then I think you have to, at the very least, consider that move.

There is no faster way to rebuild a team than doing it through the draft with multiple draft picks in the first three rounds for two or three straight years. The Cowboys built a dynasty that way. The Rams are in the process of doing something similar since Fisher's arrival (Not building a dynasty, but drastically changing the talent of the roster in a very short period of time).

It is a tough decision. I don't doubt that. But the next GM might not feel obligated to keep Newton around. He might be weary of the contract extension Newton's talents will demand. Newton has had money on his mind since college. He's been wrapped up in scandal. He dresses... never mind, but getting paid is a major priority for Cam Newton.

It's one thing to pay players big contracts when they're worth it... it's another thing to pay players big contracts for one year of production or based solely on what the player could wind up being. Cam Newton is not a bona fide elite QB. I have a feeling he's going to be asking for the $100M contract. Cam may be the type that allows himself to hit Free Agency. He might want to let people drool over his abilities and be the most wanted player in the NFL. If nothing else, he just may want the attention, but the money that could come along with it?

There was more to my remark than "just trade Cam Newton." That's not what I meant, but I didn't feel like explaining that. You never know what a player is going to do. How much they are going to demand or if that player wants to test the market. There is a legitimate risk of losing Cam Newton unless you pay him an absurd amount of money.