Cam Newton could shake up the 2020 NFL Draft

Cam Newton’s season is over and, if it is also the end for his Carolina Panthers career, that could significantly impact on the 2020 NFL Draft.

Cam Newton’s 2019 season is all but over after he was placed on injured reserve by the Carolina Panthers, a move that has naturally led to questions over his future.

Though Newton technically could return for the playoffs, this decision means it is the Kyle Allen show the rest of the way in 2019, and there is already plenty of talk over whether the Panthers could soon move on from the 2011 first overall pick.

Newton will be entering the last year of his contract in 2020 and, if the Panthers decide they would rather save money and part ways with a quarterback blighted by injuries in recent times, that could have a significant impact on the draft.

A league MVP in 2015, Newton would likely come at a hefty price, but one that numerous teams may be willing to pay.

Middling clubs such as the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans, who may both soon be moving on from former first-rounders in Mitchell Trubisky and Marcus Mariota, seem like natural fits for Newton.

The Bears do not have a first-round pick in 2020 after sending it to the Oakland Raiders as part of the Khalil Mack trade, but do have two second-rounders and could still be able to put together an attractive package for Newton.

Tennessee does have the option of sending a first-round pick to Carolina in a prospective trade. If either the Titans or the Bears were to make a deal for Newton, it would be a blow to the hopes of Jacob Eason, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Love, and Jake Fromm of being pushed up the board.

The Raiders — who have two first-round picks — have more ammunition to strike an agreement for Newton. Were Jon Gruden to part with one of them and pull off a typically audacious move to make Newton the face of the Las Vegas Raiders, a Panthers team with heaps of talent on both sides of the ball would have a measure of control in a deep draft.

That would also be the case if the Panthers struck a spectacular deal with the Miami Dolphins, whose strategy of trading away players for picks means they would have ample means to acquire Newton if they prefer a proven commodity over Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert.

At this point, the prospect of the Panthers opting to go with Allen over Newton appears highly unlikely. However, the NFL — as the Mack deal and trades for Jadeveon Clowney, Laremy Tunsil and Antonio Brown have proven — is a league in which the improbable can quickly become probable.

If the Panthers do incredibly decide to trade Newton, expect the deal to have a considerable influence on what happens come draft day next year.