Two of the biggest names in Panthers history are already making the pitch for Cam Newton’s place in Canton.
Ron Rivera, the franchise’s winningest head coach, and Luke Kuechly, who will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in one month, both believe Newton belongs there too. Their support matters because they saw Newton at his peak, when Carolina’s offense revolved around a quarterback who changed the way the position looked and functioned.
Rivera didn’t wait to be asked. In an unrelated interview, he volunteered his view on Newton’s Hall of Fame case and pointed to the stretch from 2011 through 2017 as proof of just how high Newton’s ceiling was.
“For seven seasons, before he hurt his shoulder, Cam Newton was at the top of the NFL,” said Rivera, speaking of the 2011-2017 seasons. “There’s got to be some serious consideration for the hall of fame. And I mean that, because that guy redefined the position.”
Kuechly said much the same in a separate conversation a few days later. He’s already gone through the Hall of Fame process himself - the bust, the gold jacket, the speech prep - and he’ll be one of the centerpieces of the Hall of Fame exhibition game Aug. 6 before his induction two days later. But when Newton came up, Kuechly didn’t hesitate.
Of Newton, Kuechly said: “That one dude changed how people defended the quarterback. When he was rolling, he was the best player on the field at all times.
I know he was the league’s MVP and a Pro Bowler and all that stuff. But just think about that: Whenever he was on the field, he was the biggest, most physical and best player on it.”
Newton becomes eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2027, but the road won’t be easy. He’ll be walking into a crowded modern-era field, and the lack of a Super Bowl ring plus a shorter career than many of his rivals complicate the case.
That’s part of why Rivera and Kuechly’s backing stands out. They were there for the Panthers’ best run of the 2010s, when the team won 17 games and reached the Super Bowl in 2015, in the middle of a stretch that included four playoff trips in five seasons. Newton, Kuechly and Rivera were central to that rise.
Rivera also believes Kuechly’s own Hall of Fame selection may help Newton’s cause. Kuechly retired at 28 after eight strong seasons from 2012-19, and Rivera sees that era as the kind of peak that should carry weight when Newton’s résumé is judged.
In Rivera’s view, Newton’s best years were just as compelling. He said Newton was elite from 2011-17, and that the quarterback’s 2018 shoulder injury - after a massive hit from Pittsburgh’s T.J.
Watt - marked the point where Newton and that generation of Panthers teams never fully bounced back. Rivera also credited Newton’s early career accomplishments, including NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011, a trip to the Super Bowl and the league MVP award in 2015.
“For seven seasons, he was pretty damn good. I mean - NFL (Offensive) Rookie of the Year (in 2011), goes to the Super Bowl and is league MVP (in 2015).... He should be at least talked about.”
Kuechly, meanwhile, doesn’t have to wait anymore. He’s Hall of Fame No. 386, and his induction will be handled by his father, Tom Kuechly, on Aug.
- He said he originally thought an 8-12 minute speech would be enough, but the list of people he wants to thank keeps growing.
“I thought at first 8-12 minutes would be plenty of time,” Kuechly said. “But now I’m realizing all the people I want to thank, and I’m not sure that’s going to be enough.”
Newton’s case is built on more than highlight reels. Rivera described the quarterback as a unique dual threat whose ability to run and convert in short-yardage situations helped usher in a new kind of quarterback, one now seen in players like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. He also praised the creativity of former Panthers offensive coordinators Rob Chudzinski and Mike Shula in how they used him.
“Some of the things that (former Panthers offensive coordinators) Rob Chudzinski and Mike Shula did with him were pretty damn innovative,” Rivera said. “Those guys did some really tremendous things with a very special quarterback.”
Still, the counterargument is real. Newton’s lone Super Bowl ended in a 24-10 loss to Denver, and his performance was ugly: two strip-sack fumbles that led directly to two Broncos touchdowns. Newton didn’t even try to jump on the second one, a moment that still hangs over his résumé.
But the Hall has room for quarterbacks who never won it all. Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Warren Moon and Jim Kelly are already in. Newton’s issue is that most of those names played much longer than he did, and the modern-era logjam only makes the path tighter.
That logjam is a big reason so many worthy players keep waiting. Steve Smith, for instance, has been on the outside since 2021 despite winning the receiving triple crown and piling up career numbers that place him among the league’s best.
Torry Holt has been a top-15 modern-era finalist seven times and still hasn’t gotten in. And each year brings more competition, with Ben Roethlisberger, Rob Gronkowski and Adrian Peterson among this year’s eligible first-timers.
Even Bill Belichick, now at North Carolina and long one of the NFL’s defining coaches in New England, missed on his first try in a separate category last season.
So Newton’s case may take time. It may take several years. But Rivera and Kuechly have already drawn their line in the sand.
In their eyes, Cam Newton belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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