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Free agent quarterback Cam Newton is staying patient as the QB carousel keeps spinning.

“I have teams that are interested in signing me,” Newton told ESPN on Tuesday while discussing his new seven-on-seven football league with Overtime.

“I am waiting on the best fit as it pertains to winning a championship and getting a fair chance to play,” he said.

Newton, who turns 33 in May, struggled with the Panthers last season, going 0-5, after rejoining the team that selected him first overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The Panthers signed Newton last November, after starter Sam Darnold went on injured reserve. Before that, Newton was a free agent for two months following his release by the Patriots at the end of training camp. He went 7-8 as a starter in 2020 during his one-year stint with New England.

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said the door is open for Newton to return to Carolina, where he spent the first nine years of his NFL career.


  Free agent quarterback Cam Newton says he is drawing interest from teams around the league, including the Panthers. AP Free agent quarterback Cam Newton says he is drawing interest from teams around the league, including the Panthers. AP

“It’s not just us saying, ‘Hey, Cam, come on back.’ He’s got to want to come back,” Fitterer said last week, per ESPN. “He’s got to like the role, the situation. It’s really just a fit for both of us.

“I’d love to have someone with his leadership, his toughness. He brought so much to his team last year and stabilized us during a really hard time. He’s a really special person. The door is still open for us. We’re very open to Cam. He knows where we stand. We’ll see where it goes.”

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said he’s been in contact with Newton since the end of the last season.

“I love Cam Newton,” Rhule said on Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting in South Florida. “He’s an amazing leader. He’s an amazing football player. Everything we do has to be right for the organization, right for him.”


  Cam Newton and Matt Rhule with the Panthers in 2021 Getty Images Cam Newton and Matt Rhule with the Panthers in 2021 Getty Images

The Panthers have the sixth pick in the upcoming draft in April, and could very well take a quarterback after visiting a number of college pro days this month.

The 2015 NFL MVP, Newton has a solid resume. He could bring a veteran presence to a team and mentorship to a younger quarterback with his resume, which includes three Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro selection.

Although the quarterback market has thinned since the new league calendar began on March 16 — with QB moves including Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan — there are still a few teams on the hunt for a QB.

The Seahawks are reportedly eyeing the veteran quarterback market.

“We’re definitely still in the quarterback business,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “There are some veterans still out there to be had. There are still some guys out there…. We’re still looking.”

The 49ers, meanwhile, initially had plans to work with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this off season to find “the right trade destination.”

However, San Francisco GM John Lynch said Monday that the team had no plans to release Garoppolo. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said there’s a “scenario” in which Garoppolo will remain in San Francisco for the upcoming season.

As starting quarterback jobs continue to be filled, Newton may have to accept a lesser role if he wants to play this coming season.

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