Cam picks No.1; Clausen stays No.2

The Great Jersey Debate is over.

Cam Newton came in to see Panther equipment guru Jackie Miles today and told him that he would stick with No.1, the jersey that Miles had temporarily assigned him. Miles said Newton had thought about it overnight -- he had a chance to switch the number to several other choices -- but kept it at No.1.

Jimmy Clausen will stay with No.2, the number Newton had coveted but apparently did not make much of an attempt to get. The two will compete for the starting quarterback job this season.

Newton wearing No.1 will be unusual for the Panthers, to say the least. Miles has been the team's head equipment guy -- and quite possibly the NFL's best at that job -- since the team started playing in 1995. He tells me that no Panther has EVER worn No.1 during the regular season (this in large part because Miles has never assigned it before).

"But we've also never used the No.1 overall pick on a player before," Miles said Wednesday. "That was my reasoning in giving it to him originally. Cam thought about it overnight and said he didn't want to make waves about changing numbers, that it wasn't a big deal to him and he would just keep it."

Expect the jersey to go on sale at various outlets very soon.

I said in today's column that Newton shouldn't try to get No.2 from Clausen and should make an impact with a different number than the one he wore in college, but I advocated him not taking the No.1 because of the additional pressure it would place on him. But hey, it was his decision.

Now the question will be how long it will take for that No.1 on the back of Cam's jersey to correspond to his position on the Panthers' depth chart. It certainly won't start out that way, but it may not be long.

Clausen should keep No.2 -- or charities should profit

According to our excellent Charlotte Observer Panther beat writer Joe Person, Cam Newton has been assigned No.1 for the team and Jimmy Clausen will remain with the No.2 he wore last year.

I'm guessing that's the way it will end up this season, too, as any number change would probably need to be immediate since the Panthers want to sell Newton's jersey. Newton, conversely, wants the No.2 he wore in college but doesn't want to make waves this early -- the last thing he wants to seem like is a prima donna to his new teammates.

I'll now repeat a lot of the blog I wrote about this in late April, when the issue first came up right after Carolina drafted Newton No.1. I still believe all of this:

Say what you want about Jimmy Clausen's deficiencies -- and we all have done that -- but politeness isn't one of them. I thought it was classy of Clausen to welcome Newton both in private conversations and publicly via Twitter. His Twitter message: "Congrats to Cam Newton. Welcome to the Panthers."

While Clausen can’t be happy about the situation, Clausen is determined to be a good teammate. Now whether that goes as far as giving up the No.2 jersey that Clausen holds and has rights to as a veteran but Newton wants (Newton said as much in Charlotte Friday, hoping he could get his college number in the NFL).

If I were Clausen, I probably wouldn’t let Newton have it without some compensation.

I wouldn’t give No.2 away, for sure. That seems a bit emasculating to me, given that the two will be involved in a head-to-head competition for the starting job. I might sell it to Newton, though (and then give the money to charity, an idea first suggested to me by my quick-witted colleague David Scott).

In that case, Newton would get what he wants, Clausen could save some face and a worthwhile charity could benefit with a check for what should at least cost a few thousand dollars. A win-win for everyone.

Should Clausen give Newton No.2?

Say what you want about Jimmy Clausen's deficiencies -- and we all have done that -- but politeness isn't one of them. I thought it was classy of Clausen to welcome Newton both in private conversations and publicly via Twitter. His Twitter message: "Congrats to Cam Newton. Welcome to the Panthers."

While Clausen can’t be happy about the situation, Clausen is determined to be a good teammate. Now whether that goes as far as giving up the No.2 jersey that Clausen holds and has rights to as a veteran but Newton wants (Newton said as much in Charlotte Friday, hoping he could get his college number in the NFL).

If I were Clausen, I probably wouldn’t let Newton have it without some compensation.

I wouldn’t give No.2 away, for sure. That seems a bit emasculating to me, given that the two will be involved in a head-to-head competition for the starting job. I might sell it to Newton, though (and then give the money to charity, an idea first suggested to me by my quick-witted colleague David Scott).

In that case, Newton would get what he wants, Clausen could save some face and a worthwhile charity could benefit with a check for what should at least cost a few thousand dollars. A win-win for everyone.

In other news, the Panthers drafted two defensive tackles you probably have never heard of unless you are a real draft junkie with their third-round picks Friday night. But South Florida's Terrell McClain and Stanford's Sione Fua fulfill a major need for an interior D-line that got pushed around too often in 2010. That was a major need for Carolina, so Friday was very much a "smashmouth" day for the Panthers after the splashy first day with the Cam Newton pick.

While McClain is a bit more athletic than Fua, who is mostly a run-stuffer, both are "space-eaters," said Panther coach Ron Rivera. He had a little hint of glee in his voice when he said it, too.