When starting quarterback Daniel Jones was injured in Week 14 and lost for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, the Indianapolis Colts unexpectedly turned to retired quarterback Philip Rivers in hopes the once-great QB could help salvage the year. He couldn't, but he was also better than anyone expected him to be.
While Rivers was busy playing for Indy, Cam Newton, another retired quarterback who also had retired, was busy chiping that Indianapolis should have likely given him a call to replace Jones. The Colts likely never thought of calling Newton, and for good reason.
For one, Rivers had multiple connections to Indianapolis, and Newton didn't. Rivers had played for Indy in 2020, and, more importantly, he had worked under current Colts head coach Shane Steichen when both were with the Los Angeles Chargers. The quarterback also coached Steichen's system with a high school football team in Alabama and had weekly chats with his former coach.
Zaire Franklin speaks the truth to why the Indianapolis Colts signed Philip Rivers and not Cam Newton
Ultimately, Cam Newton was simply talking in hopes of being heard and drawing attention to himself. It didn't make sense for Indianapolis to bring him out of retirement. While he was younger than Rivers, he didn't know the Colts' offense like the older QB did, and didn't have the connections to the team that Rivers had.
Surely, he knew that. He should have. Colts inside linebacker Zaire Franklin, speaking on the Joe Budden podcast, had a different opinion on why Newton wasn't a part of Indianapolis's plans.
"I think Philip coming off the bench was just a unique situation," Franklin said. "Our head coach was his quarterback coach for 10 years back in LA when he was with the Chargers. There's no defense that he hasn't seen. He's been making all the checks. So for him, it was just a matter of catching up on the language. Cam Newton was a physical specimen when he played, and would be a distraction for any team. However, he can't play like that no more. He can't go out. Cam Newton ain't running read option no more."
Harsh, but true. Moreover, even if Philip Rivers and Cam Newton had still been actively playing in the NFL, Rivers would be a better fit for Shane Steichen. Rivers was an accurate passer and knew how to adjust the alignments in Steichen's system to what the defense was hoping to do. Newton was the kind of running threat that Rivers could only dream of being, but Newton wasn't accurate.
Neither quarterback had played since 2021, which is telling in the case of Newton. He is still only 36 years old, so even while young enough to play, teams didn't want to take a chance on signing him. The Indianapolis Colts wanted Philip Rivers. They never wanted Cam Newton.