The New England Patriots landed a veteran quarterback earlier this week, signing former Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton.
While there is no guarantee that Newton will start over young signal-caller Jarrett Stidham, there is understandably considerable buzz around the addition of Newton in Beantown.
Take Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker, for example.
Walker spent the first eight seasons of his NBA career in Charlotte and actually entered the league the same year Newton joined the NFL in 2011.
So, seeing as how they came up at the same time and played in the same city, there is obviously familiarity there. As you can imagine, Walker is excited about Newton linking up with the Patriots:
“I know Cam. … When I heard the news, just crazy,” said Walker, according to Brian Robb of the Boston Sports Journal. “Both of us came in the same year (from Charlotte). I'm happy for him. New beginnings and I know the fans out here are going to love him a lot.”
Walker signed with the Celtics in free agency last summer and was enjoying an All-Star debut season with the club before the 2019-20 NBA campaign was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The season is getting set to resume later this month, so Walker — who was battling some nagging knee issues ahead of the hiatus — will get a chance to cap off his first year in Boston with a strong playoff run.
As for Newton? The 31-year-old spent nine seasons in Carolina and led the Panthers to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2015-16 campaign. He also won MVP that year. Since then, however, injuries have derailed his career.
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