2026 Season Opener Countdown: 1 Day Remaining

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 23: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) does his signature superman move after scoring a rushing touchdown during the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Carolina Panthers on September 23 2018, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte,NC. (Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We've always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.

#1. Cam Newton

How fitting that the player that comes in at number one on our countdown also wore the number one on his jersey. Serendipity. It's Super Man himself, Cam Newton.

The Panthers and their fans endured a season of Jimmy Clausen to earn the number one pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. The team was almost guaranteed to take a quarterback, and the debate was between dual threat Cam Newton out of Auburn and the more traditional passer Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri. The Panthers elected to take a shot on Newton, and it couldn't have worked out better.

There were all sorts of questions about Newton's ability to actually throw the football when he entered the league, and the fact that he got very little runway into his rookie season because of the lockout only added to those concerns. He made his debut against the Arizona Cardinals, who clearly believed he couldn't beat them with his arm, and lit them up for 422 passing yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown on what would become his trademark super man dive over the pile on the goal line. He finished that season as the first rookie to ever throw for 4,000 yards, and he simultaneously set the record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14.

Newton continued to redefine the quarterback position throughout his time in Carolina. He paired high difficulty passing productivity with elite rushing efficiency and was one of the best short yardage ball carriers in the league regardless of position. His ascent continued into 2015, where he turned in arguably the greatest season any Panther has put together. He led the team to 15-1 record with the only loss coming just a few days after Newton welcomed his first child into the world. In that season, Newton threw for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns against 10 interceptions while adding 636 yards and 10 more touchdowns on the ground. He led a league best four fourth quarter game winning drives. All of that unsurprisingly earned him MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors. He is the only Panthers in the team's history to win either award. And all of that happened with Ted Ginn as his number one wide receiver.

The Panthers and Newton saw a major regression in 2016 after losing the Super Bowl. Newton missed a game with a concussion and was benched for the start of another because he didn't wear a tie on the team flight. Derek Anderson started that game, threw an interception on the first play, and the Panthers went on to lose 40-7. The following week, Newton injured his throwing shoulder trying to make a tackle on an interception after wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin made a poor effort to catch the ball and then no effort to tackle the defender. That injury would dramatically impact Newton's ability to generate velocity on his passes for the rest of his career.

Despite his diminishing arm strength, Newton bounced back to lead another hodgepodge offense to an 11-5 record and playoff appearance in 2017, but that season ended with a playoff loss to the Saints. After a strong first half of 2018, Newton took a shot to the shoulder from TJ Watt during a game against the Steelers. His play would rapidly deteriorate from that point through the end of the season before he was deactivated for the final two games to get shoulder surgery. He played just two games in 2019 before a foot injury ended his season.

After a year in New England, Newton made a triumphant return to Carolina midway through the 2021 season. He came in for special packages in a game against the Cardinals and was responsible for two touchdowns as the struggling Panthers pulled off a shocking blowout win over the then 8-1 Arizona Cardinals. Newton got more playing time as the season went on, but he was clearly not the player he once was. The Panthers limped to a 5-12 record after losing 12 of their last 14 games. Newton's contract expired after that season, and he wouldn't play another down in the NFL.

Newton's career was very enigmatic in a way. On one hand, he redefined the quarterback position and reinforced how much of a weapon the quarterback can be as a runner while still being a threat as a passer. His impact and talent were undeniable. On the other hand, his consistency and counting stats as a passer could fluctuate, though there was a lot of context around that as well. The bulk of Newton's playing career came with Mike Shula as his offensive coordinator. Shula never received any head coaching interest despite the success of his Newton-led offenses, and he never led successful offenses that didn't have Cam Newton at quarterback. At the same time, Newton's best wide receivers were an aging Steve Smith, a rookie DJ Moore, and Ted Ginn Jr. Newton was heavily reliant on Greg Olsen at tight end to be his true number one receiver for most of his career. He rarely if ever had a good supporting cast at the skill positions, and most of his career was marred by subpar offensive coaching.

While Newton's career will go down as far and away the best we've seen at quarterback in Carolina, there are still questions about what could have been if the team did more to support him during his prime. Instead, he seemed to carry the weight of the offense on his own while the rest of the organization either did little to help or actively hampered what he was capable of doing. Still, he rose to the level of Most Valuable Player and took the team to a Super Bowl. Cam Newton is the best quarterback the Panthers have ever had, and the best player they have ever had. For that, number one in your programs comes in at number one on our countdown of the top 100 Carolina Panthers of all time.