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With Sam Darnold expected to miss up to six weeks with a shoulder injury, the Panthers needed help at QB, and they brought in a familiar face to help with their playoff push. Cam Newton, released by the Patriots just before the start of the season, signed with the Panthers Thursday after meeting with team officials earlier in the day. And that's actually pretty exciting for Fantasy purposes, though probably not for Week 10. 

Newton is the Panthers franchise record holder for passing yards and passing touchdowns as well as rushing touchdowns, while ranking third in career rushing yards, and he should get an opportunity to build on those records whenever the team deems him up to game speed. His first stint with the Panthers came to an end after injuries largely derailed his career, but he stayed healthy in 2020, starting 15 games for the Patriots and putting concerns about his foot and shoulder largely in the rearview mirror.

But his production was a question. Newton averaged just 177 passing yards per game in 2020 with only eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He was held back by a lack of weapons in the passing game, of course -- four of the Patriots five leaders in receiving yards in 2021 are new additions from this offseason -- but Newton struggled with accuracy, with a 74.6% on-target throw rate compared to Mac Jones' current 78% mark. 

Newton's bad-throw rate was right around Sam Darnold's current 19% mark, but that doesn't really tell the story, since Darnold has collapsed over the past month-plus, with a bad-throw rate over 22% in four of his past six and three of his past four games. Darnold got off to a decent start to the season, but he had been an utter disaster of late: 

So, for Newton to be an upgrade for this offense, he just has to be better than that. He should be, and his rushing ability should help boost the offense above and beyond that. That's not to say he's going to return to MVP form or transform the offense, but things should be better. That's the least we can ask. Newton is worth adding in all two-QB leagues thanks to his rushing abilities alone -- he averaged 19-plus Fantasy points per game last season despite having just one game with multiple passing touchdowns. With much better weapons around him in Carolina, things should be better in that regard. 

Of course, the bigger question is what kind of impact Newton will have on Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore. For McCaffrey's part, he caught 107 passes with Newton starting 14 of 16 games in 2018, so I'm not too concerned about him.

Moore is a bit of a different question. He has elite upside thanks to his skills and 30% target share in the offense this season, but he's been held back by poor QB play. That could continue to be an issue if Newton doesn't play better than he did in 2020, but I think that would still be an upgrade over what Darnold has done for the last month-plus. Which is to say, I do think the arrow is pointing up for Moore whenever Newton becomes the quarterback, even if it may not be an immediate boon to his value. But if you get the chance to buy low, I still think he's a top-15 WR for the rest of the season.

Newton should be an upgrade for the Panthers offense whenever he takes over at QB, and that's good news. How much of an upgrade he'll be remains to be seen, but you can feel more optimistic about this situation than with either Darnold or P.J. Walker.