6 unlikely NFL reunions that actually happened in recent history
Strange NFL reunion no. 1: Cam Newton to the Carolina Panthers
1. 87. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Panthers. Cam Newton. player. QB
I’m going to chalk this one up as the NFL reunion I felt was least likely to happen.
This was not even a thought in mine or probably anyone else’s minds before it actually happened.
As a quick side note, are there any other former Panthers looking for work? Maybe Steve Smith will want to lace ’em up again, or perhaps Greg Olsen will get tired of his new TV gig and want to play.
It seems like the Carolina Panthers are in a reunion kind of mood in recent years.
Cam Newton was the top overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft after a stunning 2010 campaign at Auburn.
Newton’s arrival in the NFL was met with some skepticism due to his smaller sample size in college, and I’m not sure any superstar QB had a more up-and-down start to their NFL career than Cam.
One year, he would look like a dominant playmaker. The next year, he would struggle badly.
The evidence of this, although maybe not the best, can be summed up by the first five years of his career and whether Newton made the Pro Bowl or not.
In his rookie season, he was electric.
In year two, he hit a sophomore slump.
In year three, it was back to the Pro Bowl for Newton.
In year four, it was a career-low (at the time) in touchdown percentage.
In year five, we got to see Cam Newton dominate the NFL for all but one game of that magical season.
The Panthers were incredible in 2015 and steamrolled the rest of the NFC on their way to Super Bowl 50. Then, the Denver Broncos’ defense came in and absolutely destroyed Newton and the Panthers’ offense.
From that point on, it felt like Superman had a cloud of kryptonite raining on his parade all the time.
Newton struggled badly in 2016 before bouncing back in 2017 and 2018, but injuries started limiting him significantly and he only played two games in 2019.
In 2020, Newton played for the New England Patriots where he had a bizarre season as a full-time starter with just eight touchdown passes in 15 games.
The Patriots released Newton at roster cut time in 2021 and he remained a free agent until November, when shockingly the Panthers came calling.
Newton’s return to Carolina was fun initially, but the Panthers went 0-5 in his starts last year despite Newton scoring nine total touchdowns.
At the age of 33 now, who knows what the future holds for Newton? If he’s healthy, he’s worthy of being on an NFL roster with some of the best talent we’ve seen at the position.
Newton is a physical specimen who is only really held back physically by freak injuries.
Will there be a Part III in Carolina? Not likely, but this reunion was unexpected and fun to see.