With Cam Newton’s status with the Carolina Panthers in doubt, the New Orleans Saints are just the latest team to be linked to the quarterback. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted on the ESPN Daily podcast that the Saints are a “wildcard” team to potentially land Newton if his time with the Panthers is coming to an end.

“The wildcard here is New Orleans,” Fowler noted on ESPN Daily. “Now, it would be unlikely, but one guy I talked to said Sean Payton secretly loved Lamar Jackson in the draft and he loves that style of quarterback where you can just get creative. You can run him, you can throw him, you can do whatever you want. And so, they have kind of experimented a little bit with that with Taysom Hill as a result. So, if you do Newton you have to be all in. It would have to be a successor situation to Drew Brees, but if Brees keeps completing 74 percent of his passes or, whatever it is now, it’s going to be hard to move on from him.”

Fowler went on to emphasize that the Panthers would never trade Newton within the division, so the Saints would only be a possibility if the quarterback were to be released. It should be an interesting offseason for Newton and the Panthers.

Newton Is Expected to Have Foot Surgery During the Offseason

Newton’s offseason was already going to have intriguing, but NFL Network’s Tiffany Blackmon reported that the quarterback plans to have surgery this offseason. The news comes a day after the Panthers fired head coach Ron Rivera.

“I’ve been told by a source that Cam Newton plans to have foot surgery. #KeepPounding,” Blackmon tweeted.

Newton still has one year remaining on his five-year, $103.8 million contract, per Spotrac. The quarterback is slated to make $18.6 million during the 2020 season.

Newton Admitted That It “Hurt Deep” to See Rivera Fired

Newton took to Instagram to express his appreciation for Rivera after he was fired. Newton noted “this one hurt deep” during an Instagram Story post (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).

“Will be forever grateful because of the impact you had on my life…Thank you for giving me an opportunity. Thank you for believing in me. I can go on and on but most importantly; thank you for allowing me to be me!!” Newton noted on Instagram.

Newton missed the majority of the 2019 season with a Lisfranc injury. Kyle Allen has been the quarterback for the Panthers in Newton’s absence, but there is a chance Carolina could look to go in an entirely new direction at the position for the 2020 season.

Newton played in 14 games during the 2018 season but missed the team’s final two games. The Panthers were hoping Newton would be back at full strength after the offseason, but the quarterback only played in two games this season.