The Panthers’ future is back in Cam Newton’s arms and legs.

After the first quarter of the Panthers-Patriots exhibition game last night, very little of what both teams did will have a major bearing on the season. Carolina looked okay as long as Christian McCaffery had the ball and Newton was still in the game. New England made two out of every three first downs but stalled on multiple penalties.

From that small sample size, it looked like the Patriots could be even better this season, with more weapons on offense despite no Gronk, and the best defense they’ve had in years. Just like their ultimate destiny rests with 42-year-old Tom Brady, the Panthers will go as their own No. 1 goes. If, that is, he can go at all.

Newton looked like the older quarterback, without much snap on his passes after shoulder surgery. But he clearly wasn’t the elusive thoroughbred of yore, and it was during an aborted escape that he seemed to strain his left foot that knocked him out of the game. I would not be surprised if the injury is even worse than it appeared.

No NFL team has much of a chance if it loses its starting quarterback these days, as a lot of teams don’t have a true star as a starter. But I caught myself wondering what new Panthers’ owner David Tepper was thinking watching Newton semi-limp to the locker room, soon followed by the announcement he wouldn’t be back.

If QB 1, as Mick Mixon called him on the TV broadcast, doesn’t return to near full throttle, I can imagine Tepper cleaning house from Ron Rivera on down and rebuilding in his own image. Tepper is a billionaire with grand plans for the franchise, so a year or two to recalibrate isn’t going to hurt the team that actually has an even brighter future with a younger, smarter owner than Jerry Richardson.

The team took a very big gamble by gambling on Newton’s complete comeback, and not trying to draft, trade for or sign a quarterback who could lead them if needed. Panthers’ fan had to be distressed by how they looked after Cam went down and out.

Besides McCaffery and Luke Kuechly, where were their other top-line players who were supposed to be in there for the first quarter? This looked like a young team with some talent but very few ready for prime time. Now, with Newton’s condition becoming the best-kept secret in Charlotte, it will be a long 17 days on Cam watch to see if he can go again at anywhere near his old speed.

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