Cam Newton was never your typical quarterback prototype. He was the OG dual-threat guy before Lamar Jackson entered the league, and a huge credit for Newton’s abilities on the field can be attributed to his remarkable physicality.
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At 6-foot-5, weighing close to 250 pounds, and blessed with 4.5 speed, Newton looked more like a defensive end than a QB. Add in an MVP award, the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (75), and the third-most rushing yards for the position behind only Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson, and you have one of the most unique signal-callers the league has ever seen.
Unsurprisingly, the Panthers legend’s physical dominance left even today’s stars like Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle second-guessing themselves when they first laid eyes on him.
On the latest episode of Kittle Things, CMC recalled his NFL debut in 2017 as part of Newton’s Panthers:
“I played against you [San Francisco] in my first game of my NFL career. That was in ’17,” the now-49ers RB told George Kittle, who had to mention the sheer size of Cam Newton when he first saw the QB after running out of the tunnel. He was especially surprised after practicing all offseason with 6’2″ Brian Hoyer.
“And I remember walking out of the tunnel, and Cam Newton was warming up in our end zone. I was like, ‘That’s a quarterback? If that’s a quarterback, what am I even doing here?’” Kittle recalled asking himself.
McCaffrey, who played with Newton for four seasons, added how small he felt standing next to the QB. It clearly left him frustrated as well.
“He was the biggest guy on our team. He wasn’t the biggest guy on our team, he was the biggest guy in the NFL. Everyone thinks I’m a small little scatback because I lined up next to him for three years. I swear, people thought I was 5’6. Next to Cam, you’ll always look small,” added CMC.
Kittle then teased McCaffrey by calling him “5’9” … a jab that CMC pushed back on by insisting he’s a heavyweight by UFC standards, even if the Panthers icon made him look tiny.
That said, for Cam Newton himself, being such a physical anomaly was always a double-edged sword. As he once admitted on his 4th & 1 podcast: “Growing up, athleticism was both a gift and a curse. I was a football player who played quarterback.”
Newton believed he could have played any position in football (or even excelled in other sports), but that same physical style left him prone to injuries, costing him the longevity enjoyed by pocket passers like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers
“Growing up, athleticism was both a gift and a curse. I was a football player who played quarterback.”@CameronNewton says he could’ve played any position…or sport if he focused on it pic.twitter.com/kzDepFv8yz
— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) June 3, 2024
Still, for a generation of players like McCaffrey and Kittle, Cam Newton is an intimidating benchmark, a “freak human” in Julian Edelman’s words, and an icon who redefined what the position could look like. That’s an amazing legacy to leave, isn’t it?
