"You could potentially be the first pick, but, bro, you have no way of impacting the game the way a quarterback does," Newton said on the podcast. "You can lock down the No. 1 receiver. You can make impact plays on offense all you want but it's still not like a quarterback. My issue is that, when I was the first pick, I went into a locker room of losers. Just honest. Guys didn't know how to win; guys didn't know how to prepare. They didn't take themselves serious to realize we was 2-14. There was a lot of 2-14 in the mentality of those guys."
Those comments didn’t sit well with Smith, the most productive receiver ever to wear a Panthers uniform and one of 15 finalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Smith was a member of that 2010 team, though he struggled to produce that season due in large part to the inconsistency at the quarterback position.
"53 man locker room - 1 = 52 losers. Wow… breaking news to 89," Smith wrote on X along with an angry-face emoji in response to Newton's comments.
Smith, who went on to become an analyst for the NFL Network, didn't stop there.
A few hours later, he posted on X: "I've watched & listened from a far as U @CameronNewton talk about @Panthers! None of us are perfect. Yes We were 2-14 before you blessed us w ur presence. The way you have talked about @panthers lately I'm very disappointed. I wish u nothing but the very best. I'm done!!!"
Newton and Smith spent three seasons together in Carolina from 2011-13 and occasionally butted heads.
Newton would earn AP Rookie of the Year honors in 2011 and helped build the Panthers into a winning franchise.
He won league MVP honors in 2015 when he combined for 45 touchdowns and the Panthers finished 15-1 in the regular season and reached Super Bowl 50 before losing to the Denver Broncos. In that game Newton was widely criticized for not jumping on a fumble, leading to a crucial Carolina turnover.
Newton spent 10 of his 11 seasons with the Panthers and remains the franchise leader in yards passing and touchdown passes. He was 68-60-1 as Carolina's starting QB, the second-best winning percentage in franchise history among QBs with at least 25 starts behind Jake Delhomme (53-37), who led Carolina to its first Super Bowl appearance in 2003.
When a fan suggested on X that Smith has been critical of the Panthers in the past, the outspoken former wide receiver quickly responded: “I’ve never backed down from my words. However calling the men in the locker room losers isn’t slander it’s disrespectful! I disliked a lot of things that happened w/ my time there. But calling men losers naw.”
Newton has not responded to Smith's comments.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Credit: AP
Credit: AP