Is Cam Newton’s career over after Baker Mayfield trade?

Cam Newton is regarded as the greatest quarterback in Carolina Panthers history.

His career résumé with the team includes an MVP award in 2015, three Pro Bowl selections, and a First-Team All-Pro nod. He’s also the record-holder for most rushing TDs by a quarterback in NFL history (75), most rushing TDs by a quarterback in a season (14), and most rushing attempts (1,118).

Newton is currently a free agency. He last played for Carolina during the 2021 campaign, and got off to a blistering start by accounting for two TDs in his first two snaps, but finished the year with 684 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and five interceptions in an 0-5 stretch as a starter. He accumulated 230 rushing yards and five TDs on the ground, but was not re-signed by Carolina.

The 33-year-old Newton has not garnered significant interest around the league during the offseason, while the Panthers have clearly moved on, executing a trade for former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield on Wednesday afternoon. 

For Shannon Sharpe, Newton’s slim market is not surprising, and Sharpe said Thursday that last season was likely the last time fans will see him in an NFL uniform.

Is Cam Newton’s NFL career over, after Panthers add Baker Mayfield? | UNDISPUTED

With training camp approaching Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe discuss Cam Newton’s future in the NFL.

“It doesn’t look good [for him],” Sharpe said on “Undisputed.”

“I definitely believe Cam’s time in Carolina is over. He was on Ryan Clark’s podcast, and he said that he’d ‘entered’ into some f’d up situations that he couldn’t succeed in. … It sounds like he’s making excuses. You accepted that, and you can’t come back and say that it was a bad situation. And can Cam be a backup? It’s hard when you’ve been that guy. A lot of guys who aren’t MVP level, you can get another seven years. Look at Josh McCown and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Even Joe Flacco had to swallow some pride. I’m not saying the door is completely closed on his NFL career, but it’s going to be very, very difficult.”

Skip Bayless agreed with Sharpe, that a backup role doesn’t seem to be in the cards for Newton.

“I’ve always loved and admired Cam Newton because I’m attracted to rare, and he’s just flat-out rare.”

“Big arm, and it’s hard to win an MVP in this league. But his strength became his weakness. He’s so full of himself in a great way, that it began to turn off other people in bad ways. Sometimes, it set him apart from his team, and in the end, you’re more of a solo act than a leader. Cam Newton was not born to be a backup quarterback in the NFL. He’s too big, he’s too real. He played a way that had a shelf life.”