Philip Rivers haven't played in the NFL in several years. None of them have Cam Newton.
Rivers is about 40 years old. Newton is about 30 years old.
Rivers signs with the Indianapolis Colts This week. Newton didn't – and he's taking it personally that the team didn't even reach out to him.
“It's almost like a slap in the face, bro,” Newton said in the latest episode of “4th and 1st with Cam NewtonPodcast “I won't lie.”
Co-host Omari “Penny” Collins noted that NFL teams may not realize Newton is available due to his high-profile status as a podcaster and broadcaster.
Newton looked at Collins incredulously before shouting the answer.
“Did Philip Rivers send any sign that he was available?” said the ESPN “First Take” regular. “Why are you asking me to do something that everyone else hasn't done? I'm not a sucker. I'm not a lab rat. Come on, bro.”
Newton added: “People hold people to standards that they don't even hold everyone else to. And that's what I don't like. “Well, you haven't shown that you [are available].' Have you been following my Snapchat?
Rivers spent his first 16 NFL seasons as a member of Chargers and another with the Indianapolis Colts before retiring after the 2020 season. An eight-time Pro Bowl player, Rivers ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions. He is currently a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although his eligibility for that honor may soon be revoked.
If Rivers ends up on their active roster (and that's entirely possible given the plethora of quarterback injuries the Colts are dealing with), Rivers won't be eligible for the Hall of Fame until five years after he retires again.
The signing reunites Rivers with Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen, his former defensive backs coach and then offensive coordinator with the Chargers. The two men are close friends who are said to speak on the phone weekly. As the coach at St. Michael's Catholic School in Fairhope, Alabama, Rivers uses the same plays and terminology as Steichen.
But as Newton noted to Collins, “He's 44, bro.”
Newton, on the other hand, is 36 years old.
Selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2011, he was the league's MVP in 2015 and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl that year. His 75 career rushing touchdowns and 46 career passing and rushing games were records for NFL quarterbacks until they were broken by Buffalo's Josh Allen this season.
Newton has not played since 2021 but has never officially retired.
“I didn’t do it,” he said, “and I won’t because of this opportunity.”
Newton suggested teams might be scared off by his flamboyant personality. “They don't want a circus,” he said.
He also joked that the Colts already had a star player wearing the No. 1 jersey — cornerback Sauce Gardner — and they knew, “I had to get No. 1.”
Newton was confident that he had nothing personal against Rivers, his “other brother.” But Newton also made it clear that he wouldn't hesitate to work for an NFL team truly interested in his services.
“I’m open for business,” he said. “But I want to be [with] who really wants me. If you don't want me, don't send flowers.”
