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Joining the New England Patriots in 2020 comes with a new and interesting perk.
Players get their own personal nickname from Cam Newton himself. Isaiah Ford, the 6-foot-2 receiver who was just traded from the Miami Dolphins, quickly earned his from the 31-year-old quarterback. Other nicknames from Newton make immediate sense, but this one takes a second to process.
Ford earned the nickname, ’30 for 30′, but how?
“I asked him, ‘Yo, Isaiah. Do you have any nicknames?’” Newton said, transcribed by NESN’s Doug Kyed. “And he said, ‘Yeah, just call me Zay.’ I said, ‘Cool, cool. Well, if you don’t know, like, my name’s Cam, and I’m the nicknamer around here, pretty much for what it’s worth. So, tell me a little bit about you. Do you have a hidden talent? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you know how to sing? Do you draw, whatever?’
“He was like, ‘No, I know how to hoop.’ So, I looked at him like, ‘You know how to hoop?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I know how to hoop.’ He was like, ‘In high school, shoot, I averaged 30 points.’ I said, ‘Welp, there you go. 30 For 30. That’s your nickname. Boom.’
“Unfortunately or should I say fortunately for him, I tried to google him, and I didn’t see that statistic. But the nickname is pretty much catchy. I like it. I don’t know if it’s going to stick. See, it’s too early to tell if it’s going to stick now. But as of right now, the pending nickname for new guy Isaiah is 30 For 30.”
Well, that’s interesting. Time will tell if sticks and time will also tell if Ford’s stint in New England will last. The Patriots desperately need bodies at the receiver position and Ford’s two years of experience with the Dolphins helps.
Without playing his first season, Ford collected 41 catches and 428 yards in 15 games played since. He’s not the big-time flashy receiver the Patriots could use, but he’s an experienced guy that’ll give Newton another much-needed option.
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