NFL Rumors: Cam Newton Could Be Headed Toward An ‘Andrew Luck Situation’ As He Battles Chronic Injuries

Andrew Luck shocked the football world by retiring rather than continuing to deal with endless injuries, and one former NFL player turned analyst thinks that Cam Newton could be on that same path.

Geoff Schwartz, former offensive lineman who now works as an analyst for ESPN Radio, said he believes the Carolina Panthers quarterback could be nearing his own breaking point, which Luck reached this summer, as The Inquisitr reported.

“Feels like we are headed to another Andrew Luck situation with Cam. Cam is just so beat up,” Schwartz tweeted after the Panthers fell in Thursday night’s game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “Doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself anymore. And if the Panthers don’t win this season, Tepper will clean house. Could make the decision easier for him.”

Newton appeared obviously limited in Thursday’s loss, lacking zip and precision on his throws and not looking like the running threat he once was. The Panthers coaching staff seems to have lost some faith as well, deciding not to give the ball to Newton for a quarterback sneak on a key fourth down with less than a minute remaining. Though Newton’s size and strength made such short-yardage situations nearly impossible for defenses to stop, the Panthers instead opted to run a slow-developing sweep to Christian McCaffrey out of the wildcat formation, which the Buccaneers snuffed out for no gain.

After the game, Newton took on the blame for the loss. As ESPN noted, the Panthers quarterback had 15 off-target throws in the game, the most in the NFL since Week 7 of the 2018 season. It was the second-most errant pass in a game in Newton’s career.

“Through my lens, it’s hard to look defensive guys in the eyes after a game like this,” Newton said. “Offensively, we didn’t hold up our end of the bargain. All fingers are just pointing back to me specifically on offense.”

While Cam Newton hasn’t given any indication that he could be considering retirement, his injury history is similar to Luck before the Indianapolis Colts quarterback announced his surprise retirement. Newton played most of last season with a nagging shoulder injury, eventually ending his season early and undergoing surgery on January 24.

"Something's wrong with Cam Newton. Cam is injured." — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/55bUEwtBtK

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) September 13, 2019

Others believe that Cam Newton may still be hurting. On Fox Sports 1, Shannon Sharpe said it seems obvious that the Panthers quarterback is still not healthy, which was evident in the decision not to have him run the ball at the end of the game.