Darnold will go to Carolina where he is slated to start in front of Teddy Bridgewater. The Jets will draft Zach Wilson from BYU and both franchises will move forward with a young signal caller who hopefully can become that franchise player.

Here are the trade details:

This just in…. pic.twitter.com/c82HT7BlR5

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 5, 2021

So what are my thoughts on it?

Well first, let’s not frame this as a race thing. McCaffrey is one of the best players in the NFL regardless of being the lone starting white running back and does it from a position that you wouldn’t expect a 205 lb. player to be so dominant.

Secondly, what does this mean for the position? LeVeon Bell once freestyled in his driveway that he wanted $17 M’s when he was holding out. Derrick Henry was franchised and signed his tender without a hold out. We still have to see what Alvin Kamara gets.

And then there is Todd Gurley who signed a big deal just two years ago and is already on another team. This is my nightmare scenario for the Panthers. If the Panthers don’t change their offense there is no way McCaffrey can carry the ball 400 times a year for the next 4 years and make it worth the investment.

In a perfect world the Panthers will stock up the receiver core, get a extra lineman or two and find a way to replace Greg Olsen with another Pro Bowl type tight end.

If this contract is going to work Jerry Richardson can’t get cheap now. Yes McCaffrey is absolutely performing to get paid on that level but it won’t last long if you don’t get him any help.

Hopefully in the future more running backs will start to receive contracts in the range of 2 years/ $30M guaranteed. That will not only financially secure the player but also not commit the team long term financially to the skill player who gets hit the most. This is really the only thing that makes sense.

We’ll see how it all plays out but good luck to CMC and the Panthers in 2020.

Christian McCaffrey is becoming the highest-paid RB in NFL history, per @AdamSchefter.

Panthers star is signing a four-year extension worth $16M per year @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/sS7YJnQ1d8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 13, 2020

There’s a lot of controversy around this team. Did the protests affect them? Is Cam washed up? Did losing Josh Norman hurt more than we think?

What’s really wrong with the Panthers? In my opinion it comes down to two things:

1. Can’t stop the run.

Carolina simply got their lunch taken by the Bucs. There is no way to sugar coat it. Teams know that if they get a hat on Luke Kuechly there will be a nice sized lane to get three or four yards at will. The Buccaneers ran six straight run plays to start off last night’s game (a Tampa Bay win) and Jacquizz Rodgers rushed 30 times for 101 yards.

2. “Silent” Cam Newton

Ever since Colin Kaepernick and other players started the National Anthem protest for the Human Rights of Black Americans, Cam Newton has simply not been himself. Last season he was dabbing, “hitting them folks” and cheesing anytime a camera was on him. Now? Cam has been pretty silent.

He still talks. He still dances. But there is no charisma. He looks visibly disturbed by the racial conversation taking place around the NFL and it’s players. Rumors are Cam Newton even hired a “race coach” to help him speak on these issues.

How soon do we forget that Cam Newton scored five touchdowns the very next day after making it rain with Rick Ro$$?

Combine the new attitude with bad OL play, a concussion, and Cam isn’t going to be himself for a long time. I’d advise cam to just have an honest conversation on what’s going on in America. Speak as that guy who dabs, attends nightclub establishments and enjoys his life as a rich black man. Let the chips falls where they may. The media has proven themselves to not really like “Cam Newton” anyways.

What happened to being himself? What happened to the unapologetically black, hip, cool guy from Atlanta? That guy seems to be the real Superman and what Carolina is left with is Clark Kent.

The Panthers’ star DB was so amazed by the NBA’s latest dunk contest that he had to work those #TwitterFingers:

This #DunkContest made me break my silence, that's how ##INSANE!!! Both you guys where, 2winners in my book
I needed that.. Thanks #NBA

— *Joshua R. Norman (@J_No24) February 14, 2016

If I recall correctly this is the same Josh Norman that was crying after the game but showed up to the media day in a Rey Mysterio mask. Hopefully he moves with a bit more humility after that loss. We all have to take a L sometime.

Take a look back on the dunk contest below:

So how did Norman respond? Did he call him Michael Jackson like he did to OBJ?

Nope, Norman simply disrespected the veteran’s place on the depth chart:

Norman: Roddy, I think he’s their 5th WR behind the tight ends and running backs. I think he has one reception for a touchdown this year.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 23, 2015

My reaction:

Don’t take that lying down Roddy.

Brand new all-blue jerseys! That’s right the Panthers have elected to wear their third color blue jerseys with matching pants. These actually look pretty cool with each other. Maybe the Panthers will wear these more often in the future.

Pics below:

“I was very immature,” Newton said when asked about his sometimes moody reaction as losses piled up. “I’ll be the first one to tell you, the pouting and the moping, I kind of overdid it. I know that. I was a bad teammate. I shut off to some people who gave unbelievable effort. … That’s where I have to mature.”

“Half the time it wasn’t me shutting people down because I was thinking they weren’t giving the same effort as me, it was me knowing there were things I could do that could have changed the outcome of the game. … I put a lot on me to be able to respond. When things are going wrong, I wanted to have the ball in my hand, just like any warrior, any competitor who has played this game. When you don’t get the results you want, I didn’t go about it the right way.”

It is not uncommon to see Cam sulk on the sideline with the towel wrapped around his head after throwing a few picks. He has to change that reaction and be more like an Eli Manning or Tom Brady, get that ice water in his veins. We’ll see if Cam can turn the corner in year two.

Anyways, yesterday I got the news that the ICON and Entertainer Cam Newton is headed to the Pro Bowl. Is it deserved? Probably not. But who really cares. The Pro Bowl doesn’t mean anything anymore. For goodness sakes isn’t Vince Young a 2x Pro Bowler?

Here are the details of Killa Cam’s Pro Bowl bid:

Cam Newton is headed to Hawaii. With Eli Manning and the New York Giants punching their Super Bowl ticket Sunday with a win at San Francisco in the NFC championship game, Newton is expected to take Manning’s spot on the NFC team in the Pro Bowl on Jan. 29 in Honolulu. Newton, who broke Peyton Manning’s rookie passing record, was the NFC’s first alternate at quarterback behind Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Manning, who were voted in. Newton, the former Auburn QB who was the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, will join two Panthers teammates in Hawaii — receiver Steve Smith and center Ryan Kalil.

Source: Charlotte Observer

On defense, injuries and a lack of talent once again plagued this team. There was no one to stop the run, as the Panthers’ linebackers went down one-after-another behind defensive tackles that even Panthers fans cannot name. It was a struggle to say the least. Greg Hardy was a bright spot on the end of the defensive line along with Charles Johnson, but all in all that unit struggled to find stops.

So what will the Panthers do in the draft? Panthersfan95 put together his third mock for us, heavily loaded on defense.

Mock below:

1	Panthers		Coples, Quinton DE from North Carolina 1st Round: They have to fix there run defensive and Coples could play DT or DE for them. If hes not there they have to get DT Devon Still, Penn State. Who is the best run stopping DT in the draft. If CB Morris Claiborne, LSU is there they cant pass on that talent plus CB is there biggest need i think.
2	Panthers		Gilmore, Stephon CB from South Carolina 2nd Round: If they get Coples or Devon in the 1st round thay still need to get a good CB and Gilmore will probably be the best 1 available. If they get Claiborne then they will probably try to get a veteran DT in FA and they should take WR Dwight Jones, UNC to get a young WR that can learn from Steve Smith.
3	Panthers		Guy, Winston S from Kentucky 4th Round: I think this pick wont be affected by who they get in the 1st and 2nd round. Winston had a good year at Kentucky and with Martin not playing good for the panthers this year Winston could come straight in and start for the panthers, and i wouldn’t complain about that.
4	Panthers		Kalil, Matt OT from USC 5th Round: They take OT Alex Hurst, LSU. They need to bring in a young prospect to replace an ageing Jordan Gross. If they have to they can move him to OG if they have to cause he has a lot a talent and strength in the trenches.
5	Panthers		Upshaw, Courtney OLB from Alabama 6th Round: They take OLB Terrell Manning, NC State. With Davis have 2 ACL injures in the past 2 years he might not be back with carolina for the next season so they need to bring in some future talent and Manning will probably be the best OLB available.
6	Panthers		Sturgis, Caleb PK from Florida 7th Round: They take K Randy Bullock, Texas A&M. Mare cost the panthers a few wins by missing chip shot FGs. They have to get an improvement at kicker and Randy is the best Kicker coming out in the draft.

(Bob Leverone/AP)

Many questioned if Cam could play on the NFL level. The openly questioned if his accuracy was enough, if he would stay in the pocket, if he could run on NFL linebackers, and all in all if he would spark this Carolina team. The answer to all those questions is YES. Cam has done nothing shortly of truly amazing, passing for over 400 in almost every contest (breaking Peyton’s rookie record in the process) and keeping Carolina in every game. He is doing all of this with Legadew Nene as one of his starting receivers.

He completed 18-of-23 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. That was his second highest yards-per-attempt average and his highest completion percentage of the year. Newton rushed for 59 yards, including a 25-yard run and a 16-yard touchdown. He held the ball for 14 seconds on the long run. He didn’t have a turnover.

Newton did it all against the best defense he’s seen this year. Jim Haslett’s Redskins threw a lot of blitzes at him, and four got home for sacks in the first half. A few were huge hits. Newton and the offensive line adjusted in the second half.

(PFT)

While he is getting the credit but not the hype, Cam Newton is quietly becoming a weapon. The NFL is going to have a hard problem shutting down Cam Newton once he gets a half decent group of receivers on the other side of Steve Smith. It is not even out the question that Cam could be the first QB to pass for 4000 yards and rush for 20 tds. Think about that.