The announcement of the NFL’s penalties for the New Orleans Saints bounty program contained one item that involves another NFC South team.

The league specifically mentions four players who were targeted with bounties. They were Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton. Favre and Warner are retired, and Rodgers plays in the NFC North.

But Newton plays for the Carolina Panthers. Apparently, the bounty on Newton came in last season’s regular-season finale, when Newton left the game and backup Derek Anderson made one of his two appearances last season.

I’m pretty sure that mention of Newton in the NFL’s report caught some eyes in Carolina. Keep in mind, the Panthers used the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft on Newton. He won the offensive rookie of the year award and is viewed as the franchise quarterback.

The fact he was being targeted for injury by an opponent isn’t going to sit too well with Carolina’s players. They’re not going to forget that.

This is going to add some intensity to the rivalry between the Panthers and Saints.