In their Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts suffered a significant injury to their starting quarterback, Daniel Jones, one that will have him out for the season.
The team is without Anthony Richardson, who is on the injured reserve, and rookie quarterback Riley Leonard was banged up during the Jaguars game. The Colts are currently 8-5 and don’t have their own first-round pick. To stay competitive, they signed 44-year-old Philip Rivers, which led to criticism from a former MVP.
Cam Newton Criticizes Philip Rivers’ Signing
Newton is consistently outspoken in sports media, and he maintained that stance with the signing of Rivers. Essentially, he feels that he should’ve been signed instead of Rivers.
On his show “4th&1 With Cam Newton,” the former MVP says, “It’s almost like a slap in my face, bro, I’m not even gonna lie,” before going on to say, “Did Philip Rivers send any type of signs that he was available? I ain’t no sucker!”
Newton is right in a sense. Rivers did not indicate that he was willing to play again. After all, the man is a grandfather and hasn’t played since the COVID-19 season in 2020. Therefore, it was the Colts who reached out to Rivers instead of the other way around.
Newton’s cohost mentions that Rivers has formally retired, whereas Newton hasn’t yet, to which Newton responds, “I did not and will not because of an opportunity like this.”
The cohost then brings up the point that Rivers is used to their system, having played there for a season in 2020. Newton responded with, “I don’t give a damn if he was in their family. He’s 44 years old, bro. Understand what you’re saying! People hold Cam Newton to a standard that you’re not holding everyone else. It’s like ‘Cam, did you say you’re still available? Cam, you’re retired.'”
In his one season with the Colts, Rivers completed 68.0% of passes for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. In PFSN’s QBi, he ranked 18th in 2020 with a letter grade of C+ and an impact score of 78.0.
MORE: 2026 3-Round NFL Mock Draft: Jets, Raiders Trade Up for Quarterbacks in Round 1
Ironically, Newton also played that season, and in PFSN’s QBi, he ranked 25th with a grade of C and an impact score of 73.7. He completed 65.8% of passes for 2657 yards, eight touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. However, in 137 attempts, he rushed for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Ultimately, Newton has a realization as to why the Colts didn’t contact him, and it’s for the same reason that others would likely agree with. He says, “I know what it comes with me. The personality. Folks don’t want a Shedeur situation. They don’t want a circus.”
