NFL insider notebook: Cam Newton-Panthers reunion a win-win, plus Rodgers gets off easy and Week 10 picks

Jonathan Jones' weekly look inside the NFL

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule realized shortly after Carolina's 24-6 loss to New England on Sunday that they'd need some help at quarterback.

Then the MRI came back on Sam Darnold's shoulder and showed he'd miss at least a month and maybe longer. So Tuesday night, Cam Newton got a call from the organization he once lifted to national relevance. On Wednesday night, they started talking money and arranged travel back to Charlotte.

On Thursday, Newton was back at Bank of America Stadium. He walked the field to the end zone, knelt at the goal post like he did during every pregame warmup from 2011 until his release in 2020 and said a prayer.