Simple math will tell you that Cam Newton should still be in the NFL.
The Carolina Panthers great joined former Pro Bowl quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III for Thursday’s episode of RG and The Ones. And Griffin, who is also a fellow free agent, asked Newton about his unemployed status in the league.
Buy Panthers Tickets“I said there’s not 32 guys that’s better than me. I still feel that way,” Newton stated. “I now know there’s not 64 guys that’s better than me. So when I go do the pro day, ‘Cam’s trying to do this, Cam’s trying do that.’ It’s like me basically talking to Skip Bayless, talking to Shannon Sharpe, talking to Stephen A. Smith, talking to Drew . . . whoever the hell it is. It’s like, bro, whatever y’all said for me not to do or, ‘Man, you going to have to humble yourself and do this and do that,’ I told y’all I can be a backup.”
The former Most Valuable Player did more than express his willingness to be a backup this past spring. He even provided an extensive list of players he’d be down to sit behind — including rookies Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson.
Newton’s larger-than-life personality and likability among players, however, may have teams balking at the idea of bringing him in to back up a young quarterback. The 34-year-old shot back at that idea.
“But now, the fact that I did it in a manner where it’s like — what do you tell your team, what do you tell your quarterback room if Cam Newton comes into that situation?” he added. “It’s bigger than just that. It’s bigger than just bringin’ on a talent. It’s almost similar — and I don’t want to just name-drop — but it’s like bringing Colin Kaepernick to the fold. What is that gonna bring?
“I can give you a perfect situation where it’s like, OK, Cam Newton’s in your quarterback meeting room, your starter is struggling — it’s going to create dysfunction in that specific way. I’m the ultimate pro. You never seen a teammate, a past teammate, say anything. It was always the outside looking in, like, ‘Man, I think Cam dress weird. I think he’s making it all about him.’ That never came from somebody who actually really knew me.”
During much of his decorated pro career, Newton had been poked at, and even criticized, for his clothing choices off the field. He also faced assumptions about his lack of leadership skills that were just as ridiculous and unfounded.
Regardless, Newton joked with Griffin — stating that he’s now a “YouTuber,” and is living his best life … somewhere in that No. 1-to-No. 32 range.
