Panthers Reportedly Tried Hard to Trade Cam Newton to Bears

The Chicago Bears made their decision at quarterback a week ago when they traded a 4th round pick to Jacksonville for Nick Foles. This caught a lot of people by surprise. Many felt there were better options on the table. Chief among them being Cam Newton, the former All-Pro and league MVP. One of the most impressive physical specimens the league had ever seen. Why not him?

It turns out that the Carolina Panthers worked to make that happen. According to Ian Rapoport, the team did everything they could to move the quarterback to Chicago for any sort of compensation. The way he phrased it makes one think the Bears had a lot of leverage. It was just a matter of whether they wanted to accept the risk.

They did not.

So the question is why? Did the Bears just prefer Foles that much more? Not exactly. A huge part of this is Newton's health. He is recovering from Lisfranc foot surgery. With the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and NFL doctors no longer permitting player physicals for the time being, the risk was way too high for them to take.

Nick Foles was simply a safer option to Cam Newton

If Newton were healthy and the virus pandemic not present, things might've been different. In the end, Pace had to do what he felt was right for his franchise. Foles has a clean bill of health and loads of connections to the Bears coaching staff. Not to mention he accomplished what Newton couldn't by winning a Super Bowl. The decision was straightforward for them. Having been burned by QB injuries in the past, they went with the safest option possible.

All this being said, the idea of Newton to the Bears isn't totally dead. He won't be able to sign anywhere for at least the next couple of months. Not until he can get a physical. By then the market will have dried up in terms of starting jobs. So he might have to settle for taking a one-year deal on backup money. If the Bears wanted to really make things interesting, they could bring him in as competition for Foles. This presuming they are ready to move on from Mitch Trubisky.

Something to think about anyway.