With Panthers quarterback Cam Newton now expected to miss the entire offseason program due to looming shoulder surgery, the team will need someone to run the offense through the looming Organized Team Activities and mandatory minicamp. The depth chart says that it will be Derek Anderson.
All due respect to Derek Anderson (i.e., here comes the insult), he’s not Cam Newton. Anderson doesn’t have the uncanny physical skills. Anderson simply can’t simulate Newton for the purposes of helping the rest of the offense get ready for the upcoming season.
Indeed, it’s one thing for Newton to miss the offseason program. It’s another for the rest of the offense to be unprepared or less prepared because they’ve been practicing with someone who can’t and won’t run the offense the way that Newton does.
So what should the Panthers do? Well, Colin Kaepernick needs a job, and Kaepernick has the size, speed, and skills to simulate Newton far better than Anderson ever could.
Sure, Kaepernick is holding out hope for a chance to start somewhere south of the Canadian border. But with the phone not ringing, he’d be wise to at least consider an opportunity to work within the confines of a team, generate sound bites of him saying all the right things, creating a reputation among a new locker room for being a good teammate, and otherwise setting the stage for his next opportunity to compete for real playing time.
The Panthers actually could agree on a wink-nod basis (unenforecable and technically in violation of the CBA but what the hell) to release Kaepernick after the offseason program ends, giving him a chance to possibly compete and start in another city. This would give Kaepernick a way to be in the league, to stay in shape, and to demonstrate his new commitment to conformity while also helping the Panthers get their offense properly prepared for football season.
Of course, owner Jerry Richardson may need to be convinced that it makes sense, given the National Anthem controversy and his past comments to Cam Newton about body art. Regardless, there’s a potential win-win lurking in this one, given the specific needs of the Panthers and the current predicament of Kaepernick.
