Drake Maye paid homage to a former Patriots quarterback Sunday who had a personal impact on him.
Maye rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter of their 42-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, and after crossing the goal line did the Cam Newton “Superman” celebration.
Newton, of course, had the best years of his career with the Panthers. Maye is from North Carolina and grew up rooting for Newton, who later had a brief run with the Patriots before losing the starting job to Mac Jones.
Maye gushed about Newton when asked about the ex-QB’s impact on his game.
“I think it was cool seeing those jerseys. Right when I saw those jerseys, it reminded me of Cam, just the energy he brought,” Maye said after the game, via a team-provided transcript. “I don’t show much emotion out there, probably need to show more. Times when I do, yeah — it’s a fun-loving position. I think he played the position in a different way than a lot of people do, and the guys around him rallied around him.
“I had another one late, I think in the third or fourth, I had a safety one-on-one. I know Cam probably would have took him on and tried to score. Yeah, I got to meet him through the process. I’m a big fan. He was my favorite player growing up, so pretty cool.”