Cam Newton Roasted by ESPN’s Kimberley Martin for Calling Multiple NFL Starting QBs ‘Game Managers’

The ESPN analyst was not having any of the free agent quarterback’s criticism of some of the league’s current starting quarterbacks.

ESPN’s Kimberley Martin roasted free agent quarterback Cam Newton on Wednesday morning’s episode of Get Up! after Newton called multiple NFL starters “game managers” on this week’s episode of his 4th and 1 YouTube show.

Newton was separating difference makers from game managers in his discussion, and his game manager group included multiple MVP candidates.

“If we were to put that in its own right as ‘game manager,’ Brock PurdyTua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff and really, Dak Prescott. These are game managers. They’re not difference makers,” Newton said.

Cam Newton with the Panthers.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is catching heat for his recent comments about some of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, including Dak Prescott, being “game managers.” :: Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports

Upon hearing the clip, Martin erupted on Get Up!

“In the year of 2023, where it’s all about NFL backups, where is Cam?” Martin began. “Not on an NFL roster, right? So he’s talking about all these NFL game managers. He sounds like the people literally tweeting at me from their basement like, ‘Get back in the kitchen.’ Like you are at home watching me. Just turn the TV off. It just sounds so foolish.”

Newton has not played since the 2021 season, where he completed just 54.8% of his passes for 684 yards and four touchdowns to five interceptions with the Panthers. Newton has not been a significant difference maker since the 2018 season, when he threw for nearly 3,400 yards and 24 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in Carolina.

As for the players he criticized, each have their teams in contention for a Super Bowl, which is far in the rearview mirror for the former NFL MVP.


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.