Cam Newton was all smiles on his first day as a Carolina Panther. He got a playbook, met some teammates, and hugged the team’s owner Jerry Richardson, who admitted that he likes Newton personally “a lot.”
Richardson told Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer of his initial sit-down with Newton, where Newton impressed him. (As did a handwritten letter Newton sent three days later.) One of the only questions Newton asked Richardson was about how Jimmy Clausen would greet him on the team.
On Thursday night, Newton found out. Clausen sent Newton a congratulatory text.
Other Panthers had some fun treating Newton like a rookie. This was the tongue-in-check message from center Ryan Kalil on Twitter:
“Congratulations to entertainer and icon, Cam Newton. Welcome to the team. -Panthers’ Offensive Line,” Kalil wrote with the picture above attached.