‘I can’t wait’: Newton to throw at Auburn’s pro day

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton, a Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn, will throw at the Tigers’ pro day Tuesday, he announced in a 54-second video on social media Monday night.

The video came complete with plenty of Newton’s patented laughs, while throwing to receivers inside a practice bubble.

“Tell me how these randoms keep getting jobs,” an emphatic Newton said in the video. “Don’t worry about it. I’m going to show you. I can’t wait to show you.”

A smiling Newton ended the video with a football in his hand, saying “ain’t 32 [quarterbacks] better than me.”

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— Cameron 1 Newton (@CameronNewton) March 20, 2023

That belief is not new. Last offseason, after finishing the season with his second stint as the Carolina Panthers quarterback, he said something similar on a podcast.

“If you think I couldn’t be on somebody’s team right now, you’re a damn fool,” Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, said on “The Pivot Podcast” hosted by ESPN’s Ryan Clark and former NFL players Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor in June 2022.

Newton, who will turn 34 in May, is a free agent who did not play last season. He spent the final eight games with the Panthers in 2021 after being signed in November when starter Sam Darnold was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He played the 2020 season with the New England Patriots.

Newton won his first start for the Patriots but finished 7-8 and had only eight touchdown passes but 10 interceptions. He re-signed after the season but was released at the end of training camp when New England decided to go with first-round pick Mac Jones as starter.

“It was just brain overload,” Newton said at the time. “It was times I was going to the line and I’m still thinking … Did I know it? Yes. To the degree that I needed to know it to show the world that I’m still Cam Newton? No. But I put myself in that situation.”

Across his career, Newton has thrown for 32,382 yards, with 194 touchdowns and 123 interceptions. He led the Panthers to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2015 season. Overall, Newton has a 75-68-1 record as a starting NFL quarterback and has run for more touchdowns than any quarterback in league history.

The appearance at Auburn will come more than 12 years after Newton threw at the Tigers’ pro day leading up to the 2011 NFL draft. After waiting more than four hours while his Auburn teammates went through their drills, he authored a 48-minute grand finale, in which the quarterback once again put his arm and footwork on display before dozens of NFL officials. Newton felt he had plenty to prove after drawing less-than-rave reviews for his throwing session at the 2011 combine.

“Every single day I feel like I have coaching pointers,” he said at the time. “The combine was no different. I left there not happy with my performance but came out today and wanted to focus on the things I didn’t do well at the combine.”

There were 125 NFL officials, including five head coaches, at Newton’s first pro day, Auburn said at the time. That included then-Carolina coach Ron Rivera, whose team eventually used the first overall pick on Newton.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.