Is Cam closer to retirement than we think?

[hepcat]

3 hours ago, Zaximus said:

Or Luck is the new precedent for saving your body when you have enough money.

Bingo. Luck is a smart guy, finished his degree in Architectural Design. He has enough money to start his own business now. 

Cam has many other ventures making him money outside of football and his philanthropic efforts are well reported. The time will come where he says enough is enough and I’m 100% sure that thought crossed his mind when he saw that Andrew Luck retired. Will Cam retire this season? Hell no. He’s not going to let his teammates down after prepping with them all offseason. Could he retire after this season or the next? Absolutely. Anyone who says otherwise is painfully naive or a blind homer.

[Palmetto]

Cam still Loves the game and wants to play

[bababoey]

6 hours ago, SBiii said:

Interesting observation....

....what do you base it on?

Unrelated to your observation....for perspective, Cam has played 123 regular season games which is slightly less than 2/3rds the number of regular season games Joe Montana played in his career (193).

Were we to interpolate on a like basis, this would imply about 4.5 more seasons for Cam.  However, given Cam 's style of play and the attendant beating he has taken, on a relative basis one might expect Cam would play fewer overall games than Montana....

....which would result in about 3 more seasons.

If the over/under is 3-seasons....what are you taking?

Montana miss almost 2 full seasons with a bad back when he got hit in that playoff game against the Giants.  If you watch that hit that would make anyone think about retiring.  It never really got right until after he retired.  Cam has never had an injury like that.

[Khyber53]

You never really know, so we better enjoy him while he's here and active.

 

[CardiacCat]

No matter what happens with Cam, "we" better get ready for the "after-Cam" Panthers life.  There will never be another Cam. It is difficult to imagine, but it is likely that within a few years we will have to live without the excitement that Cam has brought to this franchise.  For the moment being, enjoy it while it lasts......  That's what we did when Steve Smith was nearing the end of his career as a Panther.  

[LegioX]

7 hours ago, ellis said:

Brees is a bit like Brady. He’s pocket savvy, and the offense is designed to protect his ass. He doesn’t get hit a whole lot. Not nearly as much as Luck.

Or Newton.

And if he gets hit, he bitches to the refs to a point where if a defender pokes him he gets flagged.

[TheRumGone]

Unfortunately I think Cam is the type of dude to keep playing even when it’s obvious he should hang it up. Hope I’m wrong. But football is 100% his life and focus. Obviously he has other hobbies but it all comes back to football. 

I hope he goes out on his terms because he deserves it with how much time, sweat and blood he’s put into what he loves. But that’s rare. I hope him and the people around him realize when his time is up. And he gets out before serious damage is done. 

Think about what Thomas Davis is going to be like at 50 years old. We love that dude but fug is it gonna be scary seeing what he’s like physically at that age. So much damage done to his body.

[*FreeFua*]

7 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

Unfortunately I think Cam is the type of dude to keep playing even when it’s obvious he should hang it up. Hope I’m wrong. But football is 100% his life and focus. Obviously he has other hobbies but it all comes back to football. 

I hope he goes out on his terms because he deserves it with how much time, sweat and blood he’s put into what he loves. But that’s rare. I hope him and the people around him realize when his time is up. And he gets out before serious damage is done. 

Think about what Thomas Davis is going to be like at 50 years old. We love that dude but fug is it gonna be scary seeing what he’s like physically at that age. So much damage done to his body.

[OneBadCat]

I think the foot injury is putting some unnecessary  gloom on the fan base right now. But I think Cam physically looks like he's in peak condition. I think he's got at least another 3 years of play if his shoulder  holds up. If we win a SB in that span I could see retirement. I'd like him to be our QB as long as he wants to play and at a good level. But I'd like to see Cam play till his mid 30's.

It's smart move to retire early from the game. Chris Gamble did the same thing in the prime of his career, as did Patrick Willis.

[AceBoogie]

Lol no. This is dumb. Beyond dumb. Y’all are clueless. 

[MHS831]

9 hours ago, countryboi said:

man Cam love this football life, he one of those they going to have to drag me off the field types. I just dont see him retiring like Luck

Right you are--What Cam loves and what he can do are different. He LOVES the camaraderie with teammates, the spotlight, the challenges, etc.  It has nothing to do with money--the choice (when he leaves the game) will never be his.  

  I think he will ask for $40m in 2021, and at age 32 in that body that has been beaten like a May 5 Pinata, do you give him a 4-year deal with $100m guaranteed? 

I hate to say it because there are fans who think back and not forward regarding contracts, as if they are rewards and not payment for future services, but I probably draft a QB if Cam does not convert successfully to a pocket passing QB with sound mechanics.  Even then, he needs to read faster--perhaps an unfair statement based on who he has had at WR.  Still, he has always used his arm to get the ball to an open WR instead of using his brain to throw a finesse pass (easier to catch) it to a WR who is going to be open.  Huge difference. 

Cam is the franchise--he will go down as the face of the franchise for the first 25 years.  How he plays this year is so critical.

 

[Raleigh PF]

Every football player is just one hit away from retirement. Cam and Luke are no exception. There is an argument to be made that, because of Cam's shoulder and Luke's concussion history, they have a better chance of taking such a hit than a player without a serious injury in their portfolio.

None of us can predict when that hit comes, if at all. I'm hoping both Cam and Luke have long careers ahead of them, but the odds are less in their favor than most. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Cam and Luke had long careers or that, somehow, this turned out to be their last. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

[My Goodness My Guinness]

Before last season I would have probably told you that he would play until at least 35.

I want to say he won't retire by then just because of his competitive nature, but he did just opened up his own business and seems passionate about it. I dunno, if the injuries start to tally up this season then I could realistically see him retiring in a few years. 

[dgr8one]

I wonder what the reaction would be like on here and online if Cam decided to announce his retirement tomorrow...