Newton could return to Carolina

Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said the team hasn’t closed the door on re-signing QB Cam Newton. “I think we’re still having thoughts,” he said. “We have to see how this works out here throughout the spring. I just happened to be up at the [Kentucky] Derby last weekend and Cam was up there. We’re texting a little bit. The lines of communication are open. I know Coach Rhule has spoken with him. We are going to have a discussion at some point but we’re just not quite there yet, but we’ll see how it goes. The more competition we have at that position the better.” The GM went on to call Cam a “team-first guy” who he has “no problem” bringing in. Recall that Newton made 5 starts last year and popped in 5 rushing scores across 8 appearences. Maybe he returns to Carolina, but for now, he’s miles away from fantasy relevance.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Monday that he'll continue to play both Cam Newton and P.J. Walker going forward. Newton was yanked for Walker a couple of times in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, and Rhule is making it sound like that was the plan and not performance related. Newton ended up playing 75% of Carolina's offensive snaps in Week 14. This plan, of course, puts a serious dent in Newton's fantasy value.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said after Sunday's game against the Falcons that QB Cam Newton is still his starter. Newton was benched on 2 separate occasions in the loss. He threw an INT and lost a fumble, although he did run for 47 yards and a score. QB P.J. Walker wasn't any better, completing just 6 of 12 passes with 1 TD and 1 INT. Newton will be tough to trust in Week 15 fantasy lineups with the Panthers so willing to give him the hook.

The Panthers fired OC Joe Brady. It's a quick fall for a guy who was getting head-coaching interviews last offseason. Brady's Panthers finished 17th in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA last year and are currently sitting 29th in this year's rankings. QB play, of course, has been a problem in Carolina. Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will step in as interim OC, according to The Athletic's Joe Person. Nixon's only OC experience came under current Panthers HC Matt Rhule at Baylor from 2017 to 2019.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Friday that QB Cam Newton "will take the first play" vs. Washington on Sunday. Cool. But Rhule also said QB P.J. Walker will "probably" play, as well. Not cool. We'll look for more details on Carolina's plan. But Newton would be tough to get behind even in Superflex leagues and DFS if he's not going to play 100% of the snaps.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said Monday that QB Cam Newton will get most of the 1st-team practice reps this week. It's confirmation that the team is hoping he'll be ready to start Sunday's game vs. Washington. Newton threw 4 passes yesterday, so we didn't get a good look at his arm. But he looked ready to make an impact with his legs. That rushing ability should make him at least a higher-end QB2 in fantasy lineups.