Philip Rivers hasn’t played in the NFL for several years. Neither has Cam Newton.
Rivers is in his mid-40s. Newton is in his mid-30s.
Rivers signed with the Indianapolis Colts this week. Newton did not — and he’s taking it somewhat personally that the team did not even reach out to him.
“It’s almost like a slap in my face, bro,” Newton said on the latest episode of the “4th&1 with Cam Newton” podcast. “ I ain’t gonna lie.”
Co-host Omari “Penny” Collins pointed out that NFL teams may not realize Newton is available because of his high profile as a podcaster and TV personality.
Newton stared at Collins incredulously before shouting his response.
“Did Philip Rivers send any type of sign that he was available?” the regular contributor on ESPN’s “First Take” said. “Why you asking me to do something that everybody else didn’t do? I ain’t no sucker. I ain’t no lab rat. Come on, bro.”
Newton added: “People be holding people to a standard that they ain’t even holding everybody else to that standard. And that’s what I don’t like. ‘Well, you ain’t showed that you [are available].’ Have you followed my Snapchat?”
Rivers spent his first 16 NFL seasons with the Chargers and one more with the Indianapolis Colts before retiring after the 2020 season. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Rivers ranks in the NFL’s top 10 for passing yards, passing touchdowns and passes completed. He is currently a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist, although his eligibility for that honor may soon get pushed back.
If Rivers ends up on their active roster — a distinct possibility with the multitude 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 onetime quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator with the Chargers. The two men are close friends who are said to speak on the phone weekly. As coach of St. Michael Catholic High in Fairhope, Ala., Rivers uses the same plays and terminology as Steichen.
But, as Newton pointed out to Collins, “he’s 44 years old, bro.”
Newton, on the other hand, is 36.
Drafted No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2011, he was the league MVP in 2015 and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl the same year. His 75 career rushing touchdowns and 46 career games with both passing and rushing touchdowns were both records for NFL quarterbacks until they were broken this season by Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Newton has not played since 2021, but he never officially retired.
“I did not,” he said, “and will not because of an opportunity like this.”
Newton speculated that teams might be scared off by his flamboyant personality. “They don’t want a circus,” he said.
He also joked that the Colts already have a star player who wears jersey No. 1 — cornerback Sauce Gardner — and they knew “I gotta get No. 1.”
Newton was sure to state he had nothing personal against Rivers, his “brother from another.” But Newton also made it clear he wouldn’t hesitate to work out for an NFL team truly interested in his services.
“I’m open for business,” he said. “But I wanna be [with] who really want me. If you don’t want me, don’t send flowers.”
