Before they were separated by money, Cam Newton and Josh Norman were as close as two players of their stature can be.
Sometimes, that led to laughs. One time, it led to a fight. But as they prepare to play each other Monday night, the Carolina quarterback professed nothing but respect for the Washington cornerback.
“I think he’s a person that thrives on attention,” Newton said of Norman, via Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review. “I think you have to have that when you get into the professional realm of football because you play in front of 70, 60, 80 thousand.
“Josh is a person that challenged me daily because of that competitive mentality.”
That competition boiled over into a much-publicized training camp fight in 2015, and Newton said he didn’t want to pursue that line of questioning. “That’s irrelevant right now,” Newton said. “I gain nothing, you gain nothing besides a meaty story leading up into it. A week after this, nobody will remember it. So next question.”
The next question will be whether he’s willing to try Norman Monday night, or whether he tries to steer the passing game away from his old teammate.
“It just depends,” Newton said. “Knowing me and Josh, it’s a high likelihood it’ll be there. But I have to control that beast.”
“I got all respect and love for Josh. That’s a relationship that will go further than football.”
Given their track record, it’s hard to imagine they won’t be looking for each other, both during and after the game.