After a strong stretch of game where the Carolina Panthers looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders, the team fell off a cliff and out of the playoffs. Well, the season is over for Panthers fans but the bad news keeps coming.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that star QB Cam Newton could sit out the entire 2019 season to rest his injured shoulder.

Panthers’ owner acknowledges QB Cam Newton could sit out 2019:https://t.co/sWmCtVjaQQ — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2019

The 2015 NFL MVP is suffering from a lingering shoulder issue that he suffered in November in a game against the Steelers.

Panthers owner David Tepper compared Newton’s situation with that of Andrew Luck, who took two years to battle back from a shoulder injury himself.

“If you told me he took a year off and could recover and be fully recovered and everything else, and that’s what it took, an extra year, why wouldn’t you do [that]? Now we would have to do other things, right? We’d have to go out and get another quarterback. If you could find me some more cap space I’d appreciate that.”

Newton was shut down the final two games after it became apparent the injury was severly affecting the velocity on his downfield throws, even having to come out of a game at one point not having enough strength to throw a hail mary.

If the team does decide to shut down Newton for a season, they’ll have to decide whether or not to fill his void with Kyle Allen, an un-drafted rookie on the team, a veteran or a pick in this year’s draft.

Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater, Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Fitzpatrick are likely targets if the Panthers go to veteran route.