Cam Newton currently occupies an unusual place in the NFL: A quarterback who is the league’s active leader in rushing touchdowns.
Newton, who ran for 12 touchdowns with the Patriots last season, has 70 rushing touchdowns in his NFL career. That ranks him fourth among players who were active during the 2020 season, behind Adrian Peterson (118), Frank Gore (81) and LeSean McCoy (73).
But Peterson, Gore and McCoy all remain unsigned, and there hasn’t been a lot of reported interest in any of them from NFL teams. It’s still possible that one or all of them will play in the 2021 season, but right now none of them is an active player, and that makes Newton the active leader in rushing touchdowns.
With his rushing prowess, Newton occupies a unique place in NFL history. Newton has more rushing touchdowns than many Hall of Fame running backs, including Steve Van Buren, Thurman Thomas, Larry Csonka, Lenny Moore, O.J. Simpson, Terrell Davis, Paul Hornung and Gale Sayers.
Newton has to compete to win the Patriots’ starting quarterback job this season, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll add to his touchdown total. But he has already done something unprecedented as a quarterback who can make plays with his legs.