Panthers Should See Colts As Cautionary Tale

Andrew Luck‘s Retirement Came Out of Nowhere

The retirement of Andrew Luck seemed to come out of nowhere, as most people within the organization knew about the star’s retirement plans.

What’s the most disheartening about the situation is that much of the suffering Luck went through was due in large part to the Colts’ inability to put solid protection on the offensive line around him.

Luck and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton have been linked together since 2012. Both were top overall picks at the quarterback position, Newton went in 2011 and Luck went in 2012. Both have taken their fair share of abuse in the pocket, but Luck’s been knockdown or sacks more times than any other quarterback in the NFL since getting drafted in 2012.

The Panthers are dealing with there own issues with the health of Newton, and the issues that plagued Luck should be a cautionary tale for the Panthers as what not to do with Newton going forward.

Newton Gets Hit Nearly As Much As Luck

Since Newton entered the league, he has been sacked almost 300 hundred times, which is currently listed as 12th among active quarterbacks. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but given most of the people who are ahead of him have played for more than 10 years (save for Russell Wilson) that number is alarming.

The Panthers have also taken the approach of putting a band-aid on a stab wound when it comes to the development of the offensive line. Up until this season, the only time the Panthers used a draft pick from the third round or higher occurred when the team selected Trai Turner in 2014, and even that was met with questions.

The Panther took Greg Little in the second round this past draft and signed Matt Paradis in free agency, but other than that the Panthers haven’t done much on the offensive line since the retirement of Jordan Gross in 2014.

Much like Luck, Newton’s expected to do far too much during his time in the NFL as well.

Newton and Luck Both Do Too Much for Their Teams

Luck’s been known for having the hopes of an entire franchise on his shoulders, and Newton has felt similar expectations during his first few years in the NFL.

Newton owns the NFL record for the second-most rushing yards and most rushing touchdowns for a quarterback. which is an amazing stat. The only problem with that is it showed how much extra work Newton needed to do.

The result of these issues has been Newton putting himself in situations to get hurt and it has affected his ability to play effectively. Case and point is the 2018 season when Newton injured his shoulder and should’ve been resting but because the Panthers were 6-2 when the injury became an issue, Newton tried to keep playing, to the detriment of the team.

Many have held their breath in Carolina while Newton recovered from his shoulder surgery during the offseason. Outside of his foot injury, Carolina’s taking the necessary precautions to prevent Newton from getting hurt. If they want to prevent the same situation that befell Luck, they need to do more going forward.