The Carolina Panthers are signing Cam Newton to a one-year deal worth as much as $10 million, pending a physical.
Newton’s signing was the biggest NFL news during the AM of Thursday, November 11. NFL Twitter exploded after the news hit.
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Radio personality Ramona Hollowaytook to Twitter to welcome home her “football bae.”
Fox 46 News’ Grace Remington speaks to the novelty of having Newton and Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball in the Queen City at the same time.
Cam Newton and Lamelo Ball in the same city. What a time to be alive.
WCNC’s Shamaria Morrison posted a teaser to a report that will cover the impact of Newton’s return on the local economy. Think LeBron James comes back to Cleveland, but perhaps on a slightly smaller scale.
What’s does it mean for the economy of Charlotte with #CamNewton returning to the @Panthers? I spoke with a local business about it. Coming up at 6 on @wcnc.
The Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett showed love to Newton upon his return.
ESPN’s David Newton has a reference to DJ Moore’s comments about Newton’s vibe hitting everyone in the locker room. Newton tweeted:
Wide receiver D.J. Moore said Cam Newton’s vibe is going to hit everybody.
Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said he was surprised to hear about Newton’s return:
NBC Charlotte’s Ashley Stroehlein captured this bit from Panthers head coach Matt Rhule’s session with the media discussing the signing.
Matt Rhule on his convo w/ Cam Newton: “At the end of the day, I think anytime you look back on things you know, you always say I wish I would’ve done this a little differently. Everyone has that, but there was nothing but good feelings in that convo.”
Former Patriots and Panthers teammate Damiere Byrd posted this fitting tweet in Newton’s signature font:
Patriots running back James White had similar sentiments.
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How Did We Get Here?
Newton spent the first nine years of his career with the Panthers before being released before the 2020 season. Newton signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots in July 2020. He and the Patriots struggled to generate a successful offense in 2020 because of Newton’s lack of familiarity with the Patriots’ system, a potential mismatch in fit, poor weapons in the passing game and the veteran’s throwing issues.
He did lead the Patriots in rushing TDs and finished second on the team in rushing yards while also taking a strong leadership role. This and the hopes of improvement over his first season in New England led to the Patriots bringing him back on another one-year deal before the start of the 2021 season. The Patriots drafted Mac Jones with the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and held a QB competition between Newton and the rookie.
It appeared as though Newton would be the starter for most of training camp and the preseason. He took first-team reps throughout. However, Newton had to miss 5 days after a COVID-19 protocol misstep, but he returned to start the final preseason game. Still, the Patriots chose to release Newton and award Jones with the starting spot.
Newton has been sitting and waiting for the right opportunity since, and it appears the Panthers was the team to step up.
When Will Cam Newton Debut?
While there are some obvious similarities between the players and members of the Panthers organization, Newton will still have a transition to navigate.
The Panthers’ QB situation is dire, which explains why they decided to turn to Newton. Because Sam Darnold is injured and his backup PJ Walker has limited experience, there is a chance he could make his debut as early as Sunday at the Arizona Cardinals.
However, it might be more ideal for the Panthers to give him another week for preparation. We all saw what happened last year when Newton played without ideal prep.
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Twitter Reacts to Cam Newton Signing With the Panthers