The Washington Football Team had two opportunities to sign former NFL MVP Cam Newton since Ron Rivera took over as head coach before the 2020 season.
Both times Rivera passed, but he had good reasons.
When the Carolina Panthers released Newton in the 2020 offseason, Rivera had just taken over Washington and planned to give 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins an opportunity to start at quarterback. It’s not that Rivera loved Haskins, but he owed it to the organization to see what it had in Haskins.
It didn’t take Rivera long to figure out Haskins wasn’t the guy.
Fast forward to the summer of 2021. Newton was entering his second season with the New England Patriots, which drafted Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. Jones impressed over the summer, leading the Patriots to release Jones.
When Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury in Week 1, Washington’s depth chart was left with a pair of former Panthers — Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen. So, the speculation of Newton to Washington began anew.
Instead, Rivera chose to roll with Heinicke, who impressed everyone with his performance in the wild-card loss to the Buccaneers in January. The head coach wanted to get an extended look at Heinicke, and he also felt Fitzpatrick would be back.
It made sense.
So, Newton went unsigned until last week when the Panthers brought back the greatest quarterback in franchise history after Sam Darnold’s injury.
Newton played in his first game with the Panthers and scored a touchdown. Now, he’ll start in Week 11 vs. Washington and his former head coach.
Newton met with reporters this week and made it clear this game is much more than him vs. Rivera.
“It’s not about us. It’s not about me, it’s not about him,” Newton said, per Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington. “He knows how I feel about him. And, he knows what it’s going to be on Sunday.”
Newton won 68 games as the quarterback with the Panthers — all with Rivera on the sideline. There is mutual admiration between Rivera and Newton, and that will likely always remain.
But, on Sunday, they face one another for the first time in a regular-season game.
“I refuse for the narrative to be about two people when it’s about 106 people,” Newton said. “We’ve just got to be ready to rock and roll.”
Newton’s first start back with the Panthers is a storyline. Another storyline is Rivera facing his former team in the city he called home for nine years. You combine the two, and you have must-see TV on Sunday.