Cam Newton says he still believes he could help an NFL team, and the Atlanta Falcons are the one he keeps circling.
Newton, who hasn’t played since 2021 and becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame next year, has been part of the conversation around players who might still have something left. He’s been mentioned in the same breath as Aaron Donald, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, and the former league MVP clearly doesn’t think his name should be left out.
That became especially pointed with the Falcons, who face the Panthers this week and have been dealing with a messy quarterback situation. Atlanta has not been sold on Michael Penix Jr., who is still not 100% after ACL surgery. The team then signed Tua Tagovailoa after he was cut by the Miami Dolphins, only for Tagovailoa to suffer a likely multi-week oblique injury and force Atlanta to turn to Cooper Rush.
Newton made it clear he noticed the chatter.
"How y'all going to get Drew Brees, who is a year younger than my daddy, and Philip Rivers, [who] is a year younger than my granddaddy, and then y'all overlook me?" he asked incredulously.
He also didn’t hide how he feels about the level of quarterback play in Atlanta right now.
"Cam Newton speaks on fans saying he should’ve gotten a chance with the Falcons“My phone ain’t ring in 5 years… I mean damn I can do better than Cooper Rush!” pic.twitter.com/tjToupy6qr"
Newton did acknowledge that he probably wouldn’t actually take an NFL job at this point, even while insisting he’s still only 37. That puts him well behind Brees and Rivers in age, and he thinks that should matter when people are talking about who can step in and “manage” a team.
"I mean, damn, I can do better than Cooper Rush!" he said.
Of course, there’s a reason no team has called. Rush has stayed in NFL shape and has spent years as a backup, while Newton hasn’t taken a snap in five. Newton also has been open about the fact that he’s highly unlikely to return, and teams aren’t going to reach out just to be polite.
Still, if the scenario had actually come together, Newton would have been in line to start against the Panthers in Week 2 instead of Rush. For Carolina, that would have been a strange sight - one of the franchise’s biggest names suiting up for a rival against the team he once helped make relevant.
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Cam Newton Just Got Pulled Into Atlanta's QB Drama
The Falcons quarterback situation has become the kind of soap opera that keeps spilling into the rest of the NFC South, and it has a familiar name attached to it. Atlanta has cycled through six different starters since Matt Ryans final season in 2021, with Cooper Rush getting the nod recently despite a rough outing, and the injuries and uncertainty around the position have only widened the conversation.
Into that mix, some fans have floated the idea of a Cam Newton comeback, even though he has not played since 2021 and has not officially retired. Newton has already fueled the chatter a bit with a cryptic response on social media, but he has not said he plans to return, leaving the whole thing in the category of speculation for now. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Jr Puts Falcons Quarterback Decision Back In Play
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David Teppers Place Among Americas Richest Says Plenty About Panthers Power
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Teppers fortune has more than doubled over that span, keeping him in a rare class of NFL owners even as the broader list is topped by Elon Musk and followed by Jeff Bezos and other familiar names. For Carolina, the more interesting takeaway is less about the ranking itself than what it says about the level of resources and expectations attached to the organization under Teppers ownership. [Read more 🡒]