GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cam Newton's back. The Carolina Panthers struggled last year, and they've struggled with consistency this year. The team hopes Newton can bring some stability as they make a playoff push.
How we got here
Panthers starting quarterback Sam Darnold will miss at least four weeks with a shoulder injury. The team signed Matt Barkley earlier this week to join PJ Walker in the quarterback room.
The Panthers released Newton after the 2019 season. He suffered a Lisfranc injury and missed all but two games.
He then went to the New England Patriots, who released Newton before the season started. He had been a free agent ever since.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said he thinks Newton has a ton of good football left in him. The signing gives Newton a chance to prove he still belongs in the NFL.
Fans, players react
Social media blew up with fans celebrating the news of Newton's return. We caught up with some of them.
"I'm ecstatic," Lamont Collins said. "I think he should've never left. I think they did him dirty from the beginning. They should've signed him to the contract he was looking for. Cam's a great ball player. He's going to go down as one of the greatest probably."
It wasn't just fans excited to see Cam back in Carolina. We talked with former Panthers wide receiver Ricky Proehl to hear what he thought about the move.
"To get this opportunity to come back home and maybe the right the ship," Proehl said. "Maybe they didn't leave on good terms. For him to have an opportunity to come back and kind of add a spark that this football team needs right now, I think could be huge for him and the organization."
Newton's injury history
Newton dealt with many injuries during his first stint with the Panthers.
- 2014: Newton missed the first game of the season with a fractured rib. He broke two vertebrae later that season after getting into a car crash.
- 2016: Cam suffered a concussion during the season. He had off-season surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
- 2018: Newton suffered a knee strain. He also injured his throwing shoulder, which caused him to miss the last two games of the season.
- 2019: Newton only played in two games after injuring his Lisfranc. He needed surgery to repair it.
You have a chance to see Cam play for free. You can win two tickets to a Panthers game on us by playing our trivia game. The more you play, the more chances you get.