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NFL free agency: Cam Newton throws at Auburn's Pro Day

Newton last played eight games for the Panthers in 2021

Cam Newton wants to play again in the NFL.

The 33-year-old veteran quarterback announced he will throw at Auburn's Pro Day on Tuesday — more than a year after his last NFL game on Jan. 9, 2022, for the Carolina Panthers — in a social media video posted Monday night. In it, Newton rhetorically asked "how these randoms [quarterbacks] keep getting jobs?" before he state that there "ain't 32 m***********s better than me."

Newton played eight games for the Panthers that season after one season with the New England Patriots in 2020. He also started 148 games for the Panthers from 2011-2019 after Carolina drafted Newton with the No. 1 pick in 2011. Newton is currently the only player in NFL history with at least 30,000 passing yards and 5,000 rushing yards. He's rushed for at least 500 yards in all but two of his seasons where he started at least 14 games. Newton won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011 and NFL MVP in 2015.

Cam Newton hasn't played since 2021. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Cam Newton hasn't played since 2021. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) (Timothy T Ludwig via Getty Images)

Clips of his passes emerged Tuesday afternoon, where Newton was seen throwing to his younger brother, Caylin, a former Howard quarterback who played two seasons at Auburn before finishing his college career at William & Mary.

Caylin was the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference MVP at Howard after he threw for 2,629 yards, rushed for 504 yards and scored 26 total. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound Newton was a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association return specialist at William & Mary with a 7.1 punt return average. As a receiver, he averaged 14.5 yards per reception with 37 catches for 537 yards and three touchdowns.

Are NFL teams interested?

While Newton plots his comeback, it's unclear if his attempt will succeed. Most of the teams in need of a quarterback will likely look to the 2023 draft to find their next passer, whereas a team like the New York Jets is throwing all its chips into a trade for Aaron Rodgers.

Newton didn't garner much interest when the Panthers first cut him, either, until the Patriots signed him three months into free agency. The Cleveland Browns were reportedly the only other team interested in Newton before he landed in New England on a one-year, $1.05 base salary deal.

He re-signed with the Patriots following the 2020 season when he threw for 2,657 yards and eight touchdowns and added 592 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, but was released on the final day of roster cuts before the 2021 season. The Panthers signed him back on a one-year, $10 million deal 10 weeks into the season to replace the injured Sam Darnold, but Newton went 1-7 as the starter and was benched multiple times before losing the job in Week 17.

Injuries have plagued Newton's career since his MVP season. He suffered a shoulder injury in 2018 that hampered his throwing ability and then a foot injury forced Newton to miss all but two games in 2019 before the Panthers released him the following offseason.

Newton will try to make a go of it, and perhaps generate interest for his brother in the process.