The Carolina Panthers released Cam Newton in late March, after most of free agency had already concluded. That has made it rather difficult for Newton to find a home, which is why the quarterback is still unemployed in early May.
Former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who was also released by the club after this past season and ultimately signed with the Seattle Seahawks in February, thinks that Newton's difficulty getting signed is due to a combination of the timing of his release and the coronavirus pandemic (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk):
“Getting released after the lockdown was put in place, I think really limited his chances of teams A.) seeing that he was healthy and B.) just having a conversation with your potential new quarterback … I think that’s been a challenge for him. I just hope that as things continue opening up and life sort of starts resembling some normalcy again that he can start checking off some of those boxes because he’s too good of a player to not be on a team right now.”
Newton, who played his collegiate football at Auburn, was originally selected by Carolina with the first-overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.
He spent the first nine years of his career with the Panthers, making three Pro Bowls and winning an MVP award. Most importantly, Newton led Carolina to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance during the 2015-16 campaign.
However, since then, injuries and declining performance have derailed Newton's career.
Newton has undergone a pair of shoulder procedures since the end of 2016 and recently had foot surgery to repair an issue that limited him to just two games this past season.
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