Panthers' Rhule: 'I hope' to work with Cam Newton

Matt Rhule was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday and expressed his excitement to work with quarterback Cam Newton - if he gets the chance to do so.

"I certainly look forward to working with him. I hope so," Rhule said, according to ESPN's David Newton. "But I don't know enough about, really, everything that's kind of happening right now."

Newton, 30, played in just two games in 2019 due to a foot injury that forced him to finish his club's subpar campaign on injured reserve.

The former league MVP has one more year left on his contract and is set to become a free agent in 2021. He's scheduled to earn $18.6 million in base salary in 2020 with a cap hit of $21.1 million. Newton's deal includes only $2 million in dead cap and offers $19.1 million in potential cap savings if Carolina cuts or trades him.

"I talked to Cam, he's a tremendous player. He's a tremendous winner. He's done a lot of great things," Rhule continued. "I will get with (GM) Marty (Hurney), I will get with (owner) Mr. (David) Tepper to see what they think, and probably with Cam to see what he thinks as we kind of move forward.

"But if I have a chance to coach him, I know exactly that I'm getting one of the best guys, best winners that the NFL's seen.''

Second-year quarterback Kyle Allen appeared in 13 contests (12 starts) while filling in for Newton this season, finishing with 3,322 yards and 17 passing touchdowns against 23 turnovers. Third-round rookie Will Grier played in the Panthers' final two games, completing 53.8% of his passes for 228 yards and no touchdowns while turning the ball over five times.

The Panthers own the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after finishing 5-11 in the regular season.

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