Fantasy Football Reaction: Gauging the Panthers following Cam Newton's move to injured reserve
Cam Newton won't finish the season for the Panthers. Dave Richard analyzes what his absence has meant for his team and looks ahead to the future.
Fantasy managers have been without Cam Newton since Week 3 because of a foot injury. They'll remain without him for the rest of the season following the team's decision to put him on injured reserve. He's drop-able in all seasonal formats.
Kyle Allen will finish the season as the Panthers' primary quarterback, provided he doesn't play so poorly that they give rookie Will Grier a look by late December. It's been downhill for Allen after a four-score showing at Arizona in Week 3, totaling five passing touchdowns since Week 5. Fantasy managers should continue to look at him as a bye-week replacement or a low-end No. 2 option in 2QB/SuperFlex leagues.
We already have a pretty good indication of how the Panthers passing offense has operated without Newton. D.J. Moore leads all Panthers with 44 targets from Allen, catching 66% of them at a 13.8-yard per catch clip. Curtis Samuel has 43 targets from Allen but just a 51% catch rate and a 12.9-yard receiving average. Samuel has seen a few more deep targets than Moore, which explains his low catch rate. That's part of the role Samuel has: shot-play receiver. Moore's more of a reliable short- and mid-range guy. Interestingly enough, all three of Samuel's touchdowns from Allen are from the red zone while Moore's lone score is a catch-and-run from 52 yards out.
The best way to handle the Panthers receivers is to keep starting Moore as a PPR No. 2 receiver and non-PPR flex. Samuel is a flex across all formats until further notice.
Know who will miss Newton the most? His ol' ride-or-die, Greg Olsen. The veteran tight end, who missed parts of each of the last two years with foot injuries like Newton's, has averaged 6.9 yards per catch from Allen on a diet of 4.5 targets per outing. With Newton, Olsen averaged 8.1 yards per throw in Weeks 1 and 2 with nine targets in each game. Olsen has two scores from Allen on the year, but he's had 7 or fewer PPR points in five of his last six. With Newton not coming back, Olsen's cemented as a streaming candidate.
If you need analysis on Christian McCaffrey, you're not paying attention. Here's one stat: He's averaging five catches per game and has a receiving touchdown in three of his past four. That's on top of all the goodness he's doing as a rusher.
As for Newton, his future is very much up in the air. He's got one year left on his current contract and has a cap number of $21 million. The Panthers could cut him and save $19 million, a likely scenario if Newton doesn't accept a pay cut or doesn't find a new team in 2020 via trade.
There's also a chance Newton opts for retirement. He's earned over $100 million since entering the NFL in 2011 and has battled back from multiple shoulder surgeries since 2017. Now he's working his way back from what sounds like a broken foot. At this point, it's easier to believe Newton wouldn't play again than believe he'll be the rushing-passing dynamo who helped us clinch Fantasy championships several years ago.

















