Cam Newton tells the story of his legendary training camp fight with Josh Norman

For the ninth consecutive year it sounds like nostalgia is going to be the best that Carolina fans can really hope for.

Oct 4, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive back Josh Norman (24) celebrates with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) after a interception return for touchdown in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers mercifully finished up their preseason schedule last night with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 19-10. To put it mildly, there wasn't much to celebrate coming out of this one. Rookie running back Trevor Etienne played pretty well and fellow rookie safety Lathan Ransom was the standout on defense but other than that the results were pretty ugly all around.

While it's only preseason you can make a case that no NFL team has looked worse this month than these Panthers - which doesn't inspire much confidence going into the regular season. So, there's a non-zero chance that Carolina fans will have to subsist on nostalgia for yet another year.

As it happens, this is the 10-year anniversary of the greatest team in franchise history. The Panthers squad that almost went undefeated and climbed all the way to the Super Bowl started out with a famously-feisty training camp, including the legendary fight between Cam Newton and Josh Norman. Here's the 2015 league MVP telling the story on his most-recent podcast.

Cam Newton on fight with Josh Norman

Cam Newton vs. Josh Norman = pure chaos@CameronNewton gives a hilarious play-by-play of one of the wildest training camp fights in NFL history 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Ao6XcKEesf

— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) August 21, 2025

Perhaps the most-remarkable thing about that 2015 squad was how many players had the best seasons of their career, including Norman. He posted four interceptions, two pick-sixes and 18 passes defensed en route to his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.

Afterwards, Norman cashed in during free agency by scoring a big contract with the then-Washington Redskins, but he never came close to performing at that 2015 level again the rest of his career.

Newton was arguably better in the first half of the 2018 season before the shoulder injury, but for a full campaign 2015 was easily his best body of work. While he completed less than 60% of his passes, Newton finished the year with 35 touchdown passes, leading the league with TD throws on 7.1% of his pass attempts. Cam was also remarkably productive on the ground, racking up 636 yards and 10 touchdowns on 132 rushes. He also led four game-winning drives.

The season didn't end the way the Panthers hoped, but too much has been made of their failure in the Super Bowl. That's where they ran into one of the greatest defensive units in modern NFL history with the No-Fly-Zone Denver Broncos when they were at their peak.

The Seattle Seahawks' Legion of Boom units were better at their best, but that's about it for any pro defense over the last 15 years. Newton and the rest of the Panthers have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about from that season.

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