Many a word was spoken during Thursday’s dual retirement ceremony for Carolina Panthers greats Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen. After all, that’s what you do at these things, right? From Olsen’s heartfelt ode to his beloved and devoted family, to Davis’s emotional pause as he cherished the moment, the day was full of beautiful memories that won’t be forgotten lightly.
But no words were more compelling than those of owner David Tepper.
“I’m glad you guys came back home,” Tepper said to the men of the hour, who both signed one-day contracts to retire as Panthers. He then added, “Don’t worry, we’ll bring the other one back home one day.”
The one? Cam Newton.
Alas, Newton was still the elephant in the room . . . without actually being in it. He was reportedly reached out to in regards to the event, obviously to no avail and was not mentioned by name throughout the event itself, as if he were Voldemort or Beetlejuice.
How could the most successful player in Carolina’s history be on such taboo terms with the team?
Well, let’s look at the top again.
A damaging slap to Newton’s face came courtesy of the Carolina brass, particularly from Tepper himself, shortly before his release last spring. Tepper, questioned about the health of his franchise’s lone MVP, did Newton no favors.
“It’s a question of how healthy his foot is and otherwise. That’s still the number one overwhelming thing, to see how healthy he is and how we can figure out when he’s healthy or not and everything comes from that,” he said from the Bank of America Stadium locker room on Feb. 11, 2019.
“And I said it a million times, ‘Is he healthy?’ And he’s not a doctor. . . So, there’s a lot of different things can happen,” he then added. “But first is, is he healthy? Tell me that and then we can talk.”
Honest, but not exactly a vote of confidence.
Tepper was understandably uncertain if Newton was a fit for the franchise at that point. But that’s not the part you say out loud, not when you’re running an organization of men who put their wellbeing on the line to line your pockets.
Those comments didn’t get past Thomas Davis then.
“If I’m that player listening to that, it sounds like a team that’s not totally committed to me,” Davis said of Tepper’s comments. “I just know, from a fan standpoint, I know everybody in Carolina absolutely loves Cam Newton. They want him back. But it doesn’t seem like the team feels that way. If I’m Cam, I’m doing what’s best for me and my career right now.”
While Newton’s time may have been up in Carolina, he deserved more respect than that. Questioning his ability in such a dismissive manner was not mindful to the nine years Newton devoted to the team, his prospects of landing on his feet elsewhere or even the Panthers’ chances of striking any value in a trade, which obviously did not happen.
Much of the same can be said of current starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Much of this offseason Tepper and head coach Matt Rhule have opted for brutal honesty instead of a conventional show of support for their QB1, entering the second season of a three-year, $63 million deal.
“Unless you have that guy, for sure, that gets you to playoffs and Super Bowls, you have to keep reevaluating that,” Tepper commented on Bridgewater back in December. “Because that’s the only thing that matters is Super Bowls.”
“Just in general, I think you want someone who’s elitely intelligent. I think you want someone who’s a tremendous leader,” Rhule said a month at Senior Bowl practice when asked about what he looks for in a quarterback. “I think you want someone who’s accurate. I think you want someone who has arm talent to make all the throws. And I think you want someone who has a history of making plays in crucial situations.”
Considering Bridgewater’s repeated inability to lead scoring drives was well-documented, that last sentence may have had his ears ringing a bit. Then add those rather blatant knocks to the fact that Bridgewater was offered up in the team’s pursuit of Matthew Stafford, and general manager Scott Fitterer’s “honest conversation” with Bridgewater nor Rhule’s “He’s our quarterback” stand last week hold much water at this point.
Again, openly doubting your quarterback won’t help anyone involved. What kind of return can you really get for a QB you obviously don’t believe in? How appreciated can Bridgewater feel now considering he may very well have to be under center for you in 2021? What message does that send?
More importantly, why would a player want to buy into a system where its braintrust doesn’t go to bat for them?
That could be a fatal blow to any team hoping to, say, potentially deal for another uber-talented franchise quarterback who holds a no-trade clause. It could be even more fatal if said QB just happened to look up to Cam Newton like a big brother and mentor throughout his football career.
Players take note of how you treat them and their colleagues. While the NFL is indeed a business, the individuals who suit up on the field are still human. They should be treated with respect and understanding, not as stocks.
You can’t expect a healthy culture to be built and maintained if you mishandle player relations on a consistent basis. After all, Newton won’t be the first prominent Panther that’ll have to be reeled back into speaking terms – See Smith, Steve. See Peppers, Julius.
If the Panthers are serious about upgrading with a real star quarterback, they have to start treating them better when they get the chance.
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