Loyalty is often a one-way street. Especially for a franchise quarterback like Cam Newton. But it’s a lesson he was forced to learn twice with the Carolina Panthers. His career has been a tale of two choices. One that the Panthers made for him, and another that he was forced to make when they asked him to come back on their terms.

“Right when my last second round in Carolina, I didn’t know what was going to happen with my career. I was in such a different phase where I knew I was out of the franchise quarterback phase,” Newton said on the Funky Friday Podcast.

“Franchise quarterback gets priority. A quarterback is secondary if that. It’s like, you’re disposable. There were people in my circle that was like, ‘Yo, take it.’ Like, take the deal. ‘You ain’t going to make that this type of money no more. Ever. You better be lucky that they want you to be a backup.'”

He further added, “For me, I was like, ‘Hold on, bro. I know what my standards are. I’m not doing that.’ I never ever wanted to have my jersey on another team outside of the Carolina Panthers. Just so happened it didn’t work there. I went to, obviously, New England, and then had the opportunity to come back.” 

That year, injuries kept piling up for him. He dealt with a shoulder injury in 2018 and had surgery in January 2019. While Newton returned the next season, he was hit with yet another injury bug. He suffered a Lisfranc fracture that put him on injured reserve. 

As the team’s faith in him as their QB1 started to dwindle, Newton had to make some tough decisions about his future. The Panthers brought in Teddy Bridgewater during the offseason, and Newton went to the New England Patriots. 

However, the QB didn’t find much success with New England. He had to compete with Mac Jones for the starting job. Later in 2021, the Patriots released Newton as they decided to stick with Jones as their starter. 

Cam Newton’s eventual return to the Panthers was brief and disappointing. What should have been a ‘comeback’ of sorts forced him to again weigh his standards against the reality of a backup role.

He said, “But the reality starts to sink in, and it’s like, hold on, bro. That shoulder ain’t what it would with that foot ain’t what that ankle or them knees. And then you start to say, ‘But I got kids, I’m 33. Got responsibilities.’ I got big responsibilities. Like, how I’m going to figure this out?”

So, he was back in the same debate again during his second stint with the Panthers.

Why was Cam Newton’s 2021 comeback with the Panthers cut short?

Speaking of the brief Panthers’ stint on “4th & 1” podcast, Newton shared that the contract talks soured quickly once he realized the team didn’t view him as a true candidate for the starting job. After his return, Newton was initially impressive as a starter. He led the team to a 34-10 win.

However, that spark was short-lived.

He struggled to lead the team as a starter and was later benched. Newton revealed that the Panthers wanted him to be Sam Darnold’s backup in 2022. While he was ready to accept the job, he had one condition.

“My rebuttal to that was I don’t have a problem being a backup if I have an opportunity to prove that I’m still willing and able to be a starter,” Newton shared. 

He further added, “Every situation I’ve been in, even with New England and going back to Carolina, I never had an offseason. That kind of capped my mental to understand the offense as a whole and the philosophical approach to why the offensive coordinator is calling certain kinds of plays.” 

As for the negotiation, he said that never happened with the Panthers.