Panthers icon Cam Newton dishes advice to Bryce Young on turning around his career after disastrous start
Cam Newton is the most qualified guy in the world to talk about what's it like to be a quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Leading the franchise for a decade, Newton was often the biggest target of criticism in the entire NFL. Sometimes it was warranted, sometimes it was not.
However, he has (basically) retired now, and Bryce Young is the franchise quarterback in Carolina. Young, a first-overall pick in 2023, struggled during his rookie season and has shown no promise of getting better throughout the year, even though his situation was awful.
Newton has some words of advice for the second-year quarterback:
"I think he needs to understand that voicing his opinion is important. Some quarterbacks have that freedom to, and some don't. Because every offensive coordinator asks their quarterback this question.
"Game on the line 3rd and 4th, 3rd and 8th, got-to-have-it situation. 'Who would you prefer to throw the football to?.' So, the game's on the line, or going into the season, what do you need to be successful?' He needs to have those answers for that. Bryce has to obviously be open to doing it not doing it publicly. But doing it behind the scenes.
When Cam Newton won the NFL MVP award
Yes, he failed to win a ring during his career, but he has an MVP award to his name.
It happened in 2015, when the Carolina Panthers almost had a perfect regular season, losing just in Week 16 to the Atlanta Falcons. They obliterated their opponents in the NFC playoffs, but Von Miller and the Denver Broncos proved to be too much in Super Bowl 50 in Peyton Manning's final NFL game.
Cam Newton's 2015 season was nothing short of magical, even if it didn't end the way he and the Panthers wanted to. He dominated both through the air and through the ground, and to be honest, the wide receiver core of that team wasn't impressive, to say the least.
Cam Newton is unlikely to play in the NFL ever again, but it's impossible not to talk about his rushing numbers during his career. At the end of the day, his peaks will surely be remembered more than plenty of other active quarterbacks.