Ryan Clark fires back at Cam Newton amid Jalen Hurts criticism, personal jabs

Ryan Clark found himself in the middle of another spat, this time with Cam Newton, who had his own social media-created beef with Jalen Hurts. This all stemmed from Newton not putting Hurts on his Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL earlier this month.

Coming off a Super Bowl MVP, that logically created a reaction. It was debated across Get Up and First Take, of which Clark partakes.

Clark used that platform to go at Newton’s take, but Newton didn’t hold back on the latest edition of 4th and 1 with Cam Newton. In that episode, he took personal shots at Clark and even Dan Orlovsky over individual statistics after the former QB felt he was being attacked over his career simply because he criticized Hurts. Got all that? So Clark responded on social media.

“I’m gonna be truthful; I don’t really care what he said about me,” Clark said in a video posted to Twitter/X. “I’m so damn comfortable with my career. But anytime we get into the weeds and talk about who don’t do it anymore, we miss the mark. And I get it, some of y’all think I missed the mark when I said he didn’t bring his cape or when I said, ‘Where was his ring?’ To be honest, I was comparing Jalen Hurts to Cam Newton, who was a top-10’er, Eli Manning, who was a top-10’er. I was highlight how good Jalen was against Patrick Mahomes. And Cam said I was safe the week before. So I started to have a little fun.

“But let’s be real. Let’s put some respect on Cam’s name. Our job is to elevate the game. To make the game fun and to bring people together. That’s exactly what Cam did in Carolina. He made the game fun. He brought Panthers fans together. That is the same thing that Jalen Hurts is doing in Philadelphia. So let’s put some respect on that. That’s what I am focused on.”

Clark began the video saying the whole narrative went too far regarding Newton and Hurts. Since it simply began in a quarterback debate, it’s amazing how it became personal.

“Alright y’all, this has gone too far,” Clark said. “Cam became the centerpiece of a conversation that should have been about Jalen Hurts’ excellence. But instead of debating if Jalen was in the top 10 or not, we started talking about what Cam Newton wasn’t. And people stopped stating what he was. This is a dude that was a transcendent transfer who goes to an average Auburn team and wins a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy. Becomes the Rookie of the Year after being drafted first overall. Be real, in 2015 when he was the MVP, he took an 8-8 roster to 15 wins and a Super Bowl.

“Listen, I get to work with the best in the world every day at ESPN. We are the best network doing sports. So, I am with Stephen A., with Greeny, with Laura (Rutledge), with SVP, Mina (Kimes), Marcus (Spears), Dan (Orlovsky). And they never have to validate why their opinion matters. And Cam shouldn’t have to list his accolades to tell us why his opinion matters.”

Ryan Clark, Cam Newton spar over latest takes involving Jalen Hurts

For context, Newton responded to personal shots he saw on social media and likely gathered from Clark and other’s takes when they discussed Newton’s take in the first place. It’s certainly very dizzying to say the least.

“So since that we want to attack the messenger Ryan Clark, hey, let’s pull up your stats,” Newton said. “Second-Team All-SEC, we cannot relate. Undrafted in 2002, we cannot relate. One Pro Bowl in 2011, we cannot relate. People keep attacking Cam, the person, or why he didn’t jump on the fumble. Comparing and contrasting. So when I compare and contrast, you guys’ statistics and Dan Orlovsky, never mind. But the message here is Jalen Hurts. This has nothing to do with me hating Eagles fans. This has nothing to do with me being bitter. This is just my thought process in evaluating quarterbacks. 

“Let’s make people debate about sports again. There’s too many homeboys in the industry. There’s too many insiders that are moved by relationships. Well, you’re not talking about the person, you’re more or less talking about their performance, and that’s what I would talk about. Did you know Jalen Hurts only threw for 2,900 yards in the whole season? Did you know that his former teammate at Alabama, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 36 yards less? You know what the kicker is? Tua only played in 11 games. Baker Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Justin Herbert’s stats: 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

“So what are we talking about here ladies and gentlemen? Cam hating on Jalen? No, that’s not the case. He doesn’t need to play elite for his team to be successful. They’re not winning games solely on his performance. The Elite guys is. He lacks nothing in his skills department. But like I told him, team situation doesn’t require you to showcase your individual talents. These guys I put on the list are all valid. So stop coming from here as if I don’t know this game of football.”