Panthers place Newton on injured reserve

The Carolina Panthers hoped to see Cam Newton return this season, but now the 2015 NFL MVP will miss the remainder of the year after being placed on injured reserve Tuesday, the team announced.

"At this time, we have decided that the best decision to reach the goal of bringing the foot back to 100 percent is to place Cam on injured reserve," said Panthers general manager Marty Hurney.

After missing just three starts over his first seven seasons, Newton has now sat out eight of his past 10 possible games dating back to Week 16 of last year.

He was sidelined with a shoulder injury in 2018, and the three-time Pro Bowler has missed six games this campaign due to a Lisfranc injury suffered in the third week of the 2019 preseason.

Newton visited two foot specialists, and he was considering options during his slow recovery.

"We have said all along that it is impossible to put a timetable on this injury. Nobody is more frustrated with that fact than Cam," Hurney said. "He's one of the fiercest competitors I've been around during my 20-plus years in the league."

Hurney added, "For the past seven weeks, Cam has diligently followed a program of rest and rehab and still is experiencing pain in his foot."

The 30-year-old signal-caller started two games in 2019, going 0-2 with a 56.2 completion percentage, 562 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Newton has one more year left on his contract and is set to become a free agent in 2021. He's scheduled to make $18.6 million in 2020 with a cap hit of $21.1 million. That includes only $2 million in dead cap and $19.1 million in cap savings if Carolina either cuts or trades him.