Cam Newton will be a free agent on March 17, but at the moment, he's still a member of the New England Patriots. And his teammates have his back.
A video surfaced Sunday of a teenager heckling Newton at a 7-on-7 tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., telling the quarterback he's a "free agent" and is "about to be poor" after Newton countered that he's "rich."
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A few Patriots players didn't take kindly to the QB being called out by a kid half his age. Linebacker Ju'Whuan Bentley endorsed ESPN's tweet of Newton's many football accomplishments, while edge rusher Josh Uche added his take on why Newton deserves respect.
Running back James White also retweeted ESPN's tweet, and center David Andrews retweeted the strong opinion of Tennessee Titans linebacker Will Compton.
Newton is an easy target after an ugly 2020 season in which he threw just eight touchdown passes and 10 interceptions for a 7-9 Patriots team. He's far from the player who won NFL MVP in 2015 and is pretty far down the list of pending free-agent quarterbacks.
The 31-year-old was a favorite in New England's locker room last season, though, and still has the respect of his teammates despite how 2020 played out.
Meanwhile, it appears any beef between Newton and his heckler has been squashed. The QB posted an Instagram video of his follow-up conversation with the young player, who apologized via Twitter late Sunday night.