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If you're creating a list of the greatest players in the 30 year history of the Carolina Panthers, then along with 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist Luke Kuechly and 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Julius Peppers, the two names that will inevitably be mentioned next are Cam Newton and Steve Smith. Respectively, Newton and Smith top the franchise record book in virtually all passing and receiving categories, but these two franchise legends only shared a locker room for three seasons.
When Newton arrived as the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Smith had been in Carolina for a decade and was already closing in on the Panthers' all-time receiving record. The Panthers had spent a few seasons of Smith's prime as contenders in the NFC, but by the time Newton arrived, Carolina was in the midst of a rebuild. Smith was frustrated with the direction of the team and remained that way through much of the three years he and Newton were teammates.
On an episode of the Games With Names Podcast this week, Steve Smith shared with former NFL receiver Julian Edelman that his lack of a relationship with Cam Newton was a result of him and Newton being in much different places in their lives and in their respective careers.
“I was at a different place. I was not about anything other than ball,” Smith said. “I wanted to win and I was so concerned about winning, I didn’t really care about all of that other stuff, that other stuff to me was irrelevant and I was frustrated and I wanted to win and I knew my time was coming up.”
Cam Newton becomes ‘Superman' after Steve Smith's Panthers departure
Smith would go on to call himself “grumpy” during that period of his career, and he noted that people within the organization began to perceive his frustration as him being jealous of Cam Newton, the new face of the franchise.
“I wasn’t jealous but I wanted to win. I was in a hurry,” Smith told Edelman. “When Cam got there, I was so burnt out and I was such a complainer about not winning. I did not have patience for all of that other stuff. I didn't have patience for him to develop. And so it was very complicated and it was a loaded situation.”
In Steve Smith and Cam Newton's third and final season as teammates, the veteran wide receiver recorded just 745 yards receiving, the lowest total in his career to that point in a season in which he played at least 15 games, but the Panthers did go 12-4 and make it to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Two consecutive Playoff appearances followed after Steve Smith left for Baltimore. It was a run that peaked during the 2015 season, a year in which Carolina went 15-1 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history. Cam Newton was named the league's MVP, and briefly took possession of the official “Superman” moniker from both Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard.
