Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney described releasing Cam Newton as one of the most difficult decisions he has had to make.
Quarterback Newton was cut by the Panthers, who had previously given him permission to seek a trade, last month.
Hurney drafted Newton first overall in 2011, that selection vindicated as the dual-threat star went on to win the MVP award in the 2015 season, which ended in Super Bowl 50 defeat to the Denver Broncos.
Newton's departure, which came after injury-hit seasons in 2018 and 2019, was an acrimonious one, the 30-year-old criticising the Panthers organisation and claiming he never asked for a trade.
In a conference call with reporters on Monday, Hurney would not go into detail as to why the Panthers released Newton.
Hurney said: "In fairness, I'm not getting into the details of our decision-making process
"You have to make difficult decisions every year, and this was probably one of the most difficult. I mean, I drafted Cam.
"We all know everything he's brought to the organisation, both on and off the field, so it was extremely difficult.
"We put a lot of time, thought [and] communication into every decision we make, and as soon as we make those decisions, we act on them.
"So as soon as we did, I called Cam's representatives and told them that we were going to start calling teams about seeing if there was trade interest in Cam.
"I think it came out publicly the next day.
"When we got to a point where we thought that it didn't seem like we were going to make a trade in the near future, we thought it was in the best interest for everybody to release him."
It continues. https://t.co/raM8ld7f2D pic.twitter.com/Tljdnx17po
— Teddy Bridgewater (@teddyb_h2o) March 23, 2020
The Panthers signed Teddy Bridgewater, who was previously with their NFC South rivals the New Orleans Saints, to be their starting quarterback in the wake of Newton's release.
"He's a very talented quarterback. I've always liked him," Hurney said of Bridgewater.
"He's got great feet in the pocket. I think he's got good vision, a quick release. He's got good accuracy.
"I think everybody you talk to, they talked about his leadership skills, and he's got familiarity with [offensive coordinator] Joe Brady's system since Joe was down there in New Orleans with him.
"He's certainly a guy who's overcome adversity and has, really if you look at it, he's won everywhere he's been, so we thought he'd be a good fit for us."